Monaco’s exciting left-back Patrice Evra may be young but he already has a few air miles to his name. Born in Dakar, Senegal, he moved to Paris with his family when he was three and signed with PSG at 16.

Looking for first-team action, though, he surprised many by joining Italian Serie C side Marsala in 1997.

He also turned out for Monza during his Italian adventure, but returned to France apparently disturbed by the culture of racism he encountered across the border.

His first year back was spent with Nice and, after being voted the best left-back in Ligue 2, Didier Deschamps was quickly on the phone to his Côte d'Azur rivals. Since then, Evra has established himself in the principality side's youthful defence and was rewarded with the title of Young Player of the Year in 2004.

Long-time fan Raymond Domenech included him in his first squad as France boss and while Les Bleus struggle to replace the old guard in a number of key positions, most agree that Evra has all the attributes required to become Bixente Lizarazu's long-term successor.

Quick, athletic and attack-minded, he cites Roberto Carlos as his idol, yet many observers find closer comparisons between him and Arsenal's Ashley Cole. Evra himself has noticed the similarities. "It's crazy," he says. "Whenever I see Ashley on TV, I feel like I'm watching myself. He does everything the way I'd do it."

The comparison runs even deeper than that. Like Cole, Patrice Evra started out as a striker, but surely it's time for him to be taken seriously as his own man. After all, unlike Cole, Evra has taken his team to a Champions' League final.