Alan Pardew: "There are not many players who can do what he can do and it might be a nice wild card for France to have him in the squad.
"He really has knuckled down and there is a much more controlled person in his manner and the way he is around the training ground.
"I can say that publicly so it registers with the French manager.
"In the past in France there was some reputation that he was an 'enfant terrible' but not here.
"He has been immaculate and especially this season he has really kind of focused and got his mind set in a good place."