BREAKING NEWS: Mark Noble declares allegiance for France ahead of Euro 2016

While Noble may not be able to speak much French, there are other players in Les Bleus’ set-up that were born outside of the country, including keeper Steve Mandanda and former captain Patrice Evra.

It is said, though, that Noble’s decision to swap allegiances was largely down to the persuasion of West Ham clubmate Dimitri Payet, who himself had recently been overlooked by his nation until earning a recall on merit.

Perhaps seeing Deschamps change his mind on the Reunion-born attacker to bring him back in the squad convinced Noble that he too could be given one more chance to feature on the senior international stage. Payet’s recall paid dividends too, as his superb free-kick in a recent friendly helped France beat fellow Euro finalists Russia 4-2.

Noble French blood runs through midfielder’s veins

The surname Noble is of English, Irish, Scottish and Dutch origin, but is also known to have come from the Burgundy area in central-eastern France and has had many spelling variations such as Noblay, Noblais and Noblet.

In Old French, Noble as you would expect means high-born, distinguished or illustrious, but can also mean the opposite.

The West Ham midfielder’s ancestors most likely moved from Burgundy to Brittany, which is where his grandfather was born and near to British Channel Islands Guernsey and Jersey.

Noble, who recently had a testimonial at Upton Park during the international break, will surely like to get his own back on his country of birth. How satisfying it would be for him if he were to feature for France and knock out England along the way to lifting the European Championship title.

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