Nice (AFP)
European Nice at the end of a "truncated championship" by the coronavirus, the results are "flattering", admits to AFP its football director, Julien Fournier, but the future is bright with the financial power of Ineos, the new owner.
- The assessment: "Do not think you are too beautiful" -
"The end result is pretty flattering even if we didn't steal our points," admits Fournier.
Fifth thanks to a final victory against Monaco (2-1), the Gym finds itself qualified in the Europa League, unless Lyon and Saint-Étienne both won the League Cup and France Cup finals against Paris SG - in the hypothesis where they could be played this summer.
"I would not make everyone believe, and especially not our players, that we were the fifth best team in L1. This is not the reality," added the manager.
He does not forget "difficulties, lacks or weaknesses", in particular a certain inability to kill a party. The OGCN conceded four draws and one loss at home after opening the scoring.
The results are clearly positive for the structural development of the club, according to Fournier. The Gym has called back former students to the training: Manu Pires has returned to the management of the center, and Cédric Varrault and Didier Digard, two former captains of the Aiglons, are training youth teams.
Finally, the public limited company recovered pre-training and training until the age of 13, "invisible but capital work" for Fournier.
- Money: no "Ineos fantasy" -
The takeover of the club by Jim Ratcliffe, one of the biggest British fortunes, makes the people of Nice dream, but "those who remain on the + fantasy Ineos + will be disappointed", warns the director of football. Those "who imagine our shareholder competing in the market with PSG too".
"Our ambition is always in the medium term, that of being in the race for Europe", reframes Fournier.
He operates a little backtrack, upon his arrival in 2011 with President Jean-Pierre Rivère, duo returned to business in January after leaving the previous Sino-American shareholders on a disagreement.
"We are moving forward. In 2011, the objective was to maintain. Then, the middle of the table. Then Europe regularly," sums up Fournier.
Do not wait for follies, therefore, but the financial surface of the boss of Ineos has already made it possible to absorb the shortfall due to the pandemic.
In "the current health and economic crisis, this is a fantastic opportunity. With our former shareholders, we would be in a very complicated phase from an economic and treasury point of view," said Fournier.
- The transfer window: Nice is "no longer a supermarket" -
Stable financially and normally European, Nice has already started to work its transfer window, with "Pat" Vieira, for a third season on the bench.
"Patrick will be our coach next season. The question is not under debate, Fournier confirms. We are on the same wavelength, with the same vision of the club and its development."
Regarding departures, Nice did not keep loaned players, Adam Ounas (Naples), Moussa Wagué (Barcelona) and Riza Durmisi (Lazio), and let slip the child of the club Malang Sarr, who could join the Bundesliga.
Arriving side, Robson Bambu, the Brazilian Espoir defender of Athletico Paranaense or Gustavo Assunçao, Brazilian midfielder 20 from Famalicao (Port), interest the club, according to the Portuguese press.
But the best moves of the Nice version Ineos could well be to keep its pearls, its Danish striker and its Algerian rear wing.
"Kasper Dolberg will be there at the start, Youcef Atal too, provides Fournier. There was never any question of them leaving. They are in our approach."
Negotiations are underway to retain Argentinian goalkeeper Walter Benitez.
Above all, "the club has become attractive," says Fournier.
"The change is also measured by the fact that before if we had successes with Hatem Ben Arfa, Dalbert or Ricardo Pereira, we could not keep them. Now it is possible. We are no longer a supermarket!" he rejoices. Now Nice "is working on three mercatos. If a player says to me:" I come to show myself a season and go to a bigger club, "we move on to another," concludes Fournier. Next season is full of promise.
© 2020 AFP