St Etienne’s Europa League tie against Manchester United will put some of their players in the shop window, especially for Premier League clubs looking for a summer bargain. Ligue 1 is a division with a mix of the technical and the physical, making it the perfect place for English clubs to find players suitable for the brand of football played.

It’s not always a given that French exports will stun England, though. Indeed, St Etienne themselves have two players in their ranks whose names will urge caution to any Premier League club looking to pick up a Ligue 1 star. Jordan Veretout and Henri Saivet will both be good bets for starting berths at Old Trafford, but both men displayed traits ranging from flop to meh in a Premier League season where both were relegated with two of English football’s biggest institutions: Aston Villa and Newcastle.

At the same time, though, Les Verts are a club who have produced some fabulous players over the past decade or so. Chelsea picked up Kurt Zouma, Borussia Dortmund nabbed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whilst Blaise Matuidi, Kevin Mirallas and Dimitri Payet have all played under Christophe Galtier at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Here are THREE of the current crop that Premier League clubs would do well to look at this summer.

Loic Perrin

Perrin is a player who it seems is perennially linked with the Premier League. The move has never materialised, though, for a man who is St Etienne through and through, and whom may not want to leave the club anyway.

His age - he’ll be 32 in August - may be another stumbling block for any move, but he is an ultra-reliable centre-back who can still solidify any defence. He is a down-to-Earth player off the pitch, whilst on it he is adept in a back three or a four and a threat from set-pieces, too.

Any club looking for a solid and experienced leader to sort out their defence for the next two or three years could do a lot worse than giving Perrin the keys to their back line.

Stephane Ruffier

Ruffier is probably St Etienne’s biggest asset right now. A goalkeeper who is another player constantly linked with a move away, and constantly stays put.

He has his eccentricities, and has in the past been prone to the odd calamity under the high ball - clearly a red flag when it comes to 'keepers in England - but his shot-stopping ability is second to none. He is a last line of defence Les Verts have called upon time after time, and if they’re to have any chance against Manchester United, it might only come after a Ruffier bail-out.

Kevin Malcuit

When picking out St Etienne’s best players, you’ll usually gravitate to the back line. Romain Hamouma and the in-form Kevin Monnet-Paquet are good players, for example, but none stand out as goalscorers, and in a team bereft of firepower, it is consequently tough to play the assist-maker.

The two other names on the list, Perrin and Ruffier, are perhaps St Etienne’s best-known players, but we've included a lesser-known name inKevin Malcuit, who is perhaps one of the unsung heroes of Les Verts’ squad.

A solid full-back who plays in the second-best defence in Ligue 1, and one who is not afraid to get forward in attack, he shows his worth often. Simply put, Malcuit is a full-back for the modern game.