The one exit Nice never planned for
Seven days left in the window. OGC Nice thought the heavy lifting was behind them. Then Melvin Bard’s name started circulating in England.
According to Foot Mercato, a Premier League club is actively putting together a move for the 25-year-old left wing-back. Nothing formal has landed yet. The Riviera club are taking it seriously anyway.
Bard is no squad filler at the Gym. He has close to 200 senior appearances in red and black, which at his age says something rare: he stayed, and he became a fixture.
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10 million euros will not get it done
Transfermarkt puts his value at 10 million euros. Nice want considerably more before the conversation even starts.
Their leverage comes down to two things. Bard has two years left on his contract. And with a week before the deadline, any club that loses a starter now has almost no time to find someone who can do the job.
Sunderland tried last summer. Nice said no then too.
A decent summer, built on almost nothing
Money was tight when pre-season began, and Nice still brought in Elye Wahi, Nathan Ngoumou, Axel Witsel and Laurent Abergel without paying a single transfer fee, on loans or free deals. Gauthier Hein was the only signing that cost anything, at 1.7 million euros.
Roger Ricord’s real work has been in the other direction. The sporting director has moved on Charles Vanhoutte, Jeremie Boga, Terem Moffi, Tom Louchet, Gabin Bernardeau and Mattia Viti. Mohamed-Ali Cho looks next. The wage bill is a lot lighter than it was in June.
Then there are the kids. Antoine Mendy and Peprah Oppong are drawing looks of their own. A week is long enough to undo quite a lot.
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