France have not looked altogether convincing since their World Cup triumph four months ago.

Their six UEFA Nations League games so far have yielded three wins, two draws and a defeat.

Didier Deschamps can rest safe in the knowledge his name is already written down in national folklore thanks to the summer's achievements, but some of his selections have proved puzzling.

In the absence of Samuel Umtiti at centre-back, he has turned to Adil Rami and Mamadou Sakho.

Those decisions appear all the stranger when there is such an obvious solution available in Aymeric Laporte.

The defender has excelled at Manchester City but has never made a senior appearance for Les Bleus.

Tellingly, he was the only player in the starting XI vs West Ham who doesn't play for his country.

In fact, his last international call-up to the squad came in March 2017.

At face value, that fact might be attributed to the competitive nature of the French squad.

Why don't France utilise Laporte? 

However, Goal have delved a little deeper and have explained that the 24-year-old is being sidelined for more personal reasons.

France were initially cautious after learning he had also considered playing for Spain, having moved to Bilbao as a teenager. His grandparents are also from the Basque region.

That, in itself, was not the main deterrent. It's claimed Laporte is viewed as "arrogant" and "aloof" with his team-mates.

Antoine Griezmann is one of a number of squad members who don't like him.

Deschamps therefore does not want to upset the dynamics in the dressing room by including him.

As per the same report, Laporte's youth coach with France, Pierre Mankowski, gave a further insight:

“He does not engage with the group," he said.

“He is a loner. When he communicates, it may seem awkward, because he has a great perception of his value and he shows it.

"In the end, he’s a good pro who has trouble enrolling in the collective.”

Laporte has made it clear he is unhappy about the situation.

When Adrien Rabiot took to Instagram following his own omission from the World Cup squad, which he said was not based on "sporting logic", Laporte liked the post and commented with several 'clapping' emojis.

Unless his attitude fundamentally changes, it's likely his talent is going to continue being wasted. 

Are France right not to play Laporte? Have your say in the comments.