Football Season Guide

Nantes appeared to be well set up for the summer when they finished last season 7th in Ligue 1 - their best conclusion to a campaign since 2003-04. Sergio Conceicao had his side in brilliant form, playing above their level offensively and winning matches because of their tigerish determination. He had indicated his willingness to remain at the club by signing a new contract but then moved to Porto in a deal that shocked and disappointed the board of the Breton side. As such, they have moved to appoint Claudio Ranieri into the post, with the Italian given the tricky job of matching that done by his predecessor. So far, the headway Ranieri has made in terms of improving the squad has been limited. Promising young winger Amine Harit has departed for Schalke but otherwise the first-team squad has almost entirely remained apart from veterans Oswaldo Vizcarrondo and Remy Riou, both of whom were coming towards the natural ends to their careers at the Stade de la Beaujoire in any case. Ciprian Tatarusanu has been added from Fiorentina to keep goal, while the defence has been reinforced by the addition of Nicolas Pallois from Bordeaux – an excellent signing on paper. Additionally, Chidozie Awazien has arrived on loan from Porto’s second team to add depth to the defence. He was one of two players to join up from the Portuguese giants, with Kayembe the other on the wing. Nantes are not a side bereft of quality but they are inconsistent, especially in attack. Prejuce Nakoulma enjoyed an explosive start to life in France while Emiliano Sala is ungainly but can be effective. The other forwards, Yacine Bammou and Mariusz Stepinski, struggled somewhat last term but the latter has strong pedigree and could be useful if confidence can be coaxed out of him. Elsewhere, the midfield looks in decent shape, anchored by Guillaume Gillet, while the defence, too, looks of solid quality.