Abdoulaye Doucoure is fully focused on Watford and will not allow talk of a potential France call up to distract him.

That is the assertion of the Hornets midfielder’s fellow Frenchman Etienne Capoue, who has seen Doucoure develop considerably since joining Watford in 2016.

The box-to-box midfielder has earned wide praise for a campaign which has seen him score seven goals and attract attention from some of the Premier League’s biggest sides.

Such displays have naturally brought with them calls for Doucoure to be included in France’s World Cup squad in Russia this summer.

Capoue, however, insists Doucoure’s immediate focus must remain on matters at Vicarage Road rather than a potential call-up for France.

“If he puts France in his mind, maybe he loses his focus,” Capoue explained. “He is doing very well when he thinks about Watford, so he should keep doing that.

“He is not even talking about France, so that is good and I hope he will finish the season well and score more goals.”

Making the cut for France’s squad will be no easy task given the plethora of options at Didier Deschamps’ disposal heading into the World Cup.

The Euro 2016 runners up will be among to frontrunners to lift the trophy in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on July 15 and are well stoked in central midfield areas.

Paul Pogba, N’golo Kante and Blaise Matuidi are all at Champions League clubs and provide competition in the centre of the park.

Such talent, Capoue claims, presents a hurdle Doucoure must pass if he is to make the cut for Russia, and one which could be to testing for the 24-year-old.

“Maybe you have to ask Didier Deschamps because it is hard for me to reply for him,” he said when quizzed on whether Doucoure was up to the standard of his compatriots.

“I think it will be hard because there are top, top players in the national team.

“We will see what happens though. He needs to keep going and after that you never know what will happen if players get injured.”