Nantes is relaunching with a completely revamped defence

Returning from the African Cup of Nations on Wednesday, Cameroonian Jean-Charles Castelletto needed three days of training to get to grips with his new surroundings. This Saturday evening (9 pm), he could be the only representative of the preferential defensive line in the first half of the season to start the match. Next to him, Nathan Zeze replaces the injured Arre Komert. On the right, Calvin Amiens, already starting on Sunday in Reims (0-0), will continue against Lens. And finally on the left, Jean-Kevin Duvar should act while waiting for Nicolas Cozza. Loaned out by Wolfsburg in the last minutes of the transfer window, the 25-year-old former Montpellier was not called up for Saturday evening’s meeting.

The landscape at the back has changed a lot, with Nantes struggling to find stability for months (30 goals conceded, 16th record in L1). But such a stir was not on the agenda just a few weeks ago. Only the arrival of Amiens in the right lane was desired, to relay Marcus Coco in an area where Ronald Pierre-Gabriel (still at the club) as well as Fabian Santonz (on loan to Hellas Verona) could not satisfy.

But on the left, where FCN let Jouen Hadjam go in early January (Young Boys Bern), he was not particularly needed, with DuVerne serving as Quentin Merlin’s understudy. But the club got their revenge without transferring the Espoir international to Marseille for €12 million, which was the initial bet.

He had long believed that a deal would be done with Masadio Haidara (Lens), a track that was never fully convinced by Bruno Onyemachi (Bovista) and fell back on Koza, who plays in the same position but doesn’t quite have it. Similar profile to the two previously mentioned.

“I am satisfied especially because we have managed to do certain thingsJocelyn Gorvanek rejoiced at a press conference. We released players who had played a little less or wanted elsewhere. We have managed to bring in quality players with a great mindset, that is important. And we have also managed to integrate the youth. I think we are a bit better equipped to attack the final directly. »

With a better balanced and more involved squad, if we follow the coach’s speech carefully, we are happy to attract new players. “Don’t come basically. We want to re-oxygenate the locker room, restore the energy. But tighten up: we had six departures, four arrivals with three elements who know Ligue 1, to have a transfer window where there is movement. was important. 2023 has been a long year for everyone. It’s good that we’re refocusing on all those operations.”

Even if it means that most of what was done this summer is rejected: Marquinhos, Edson and Lemin Dike, who arrived at the beginning of the season, are already gone, leaving Pierre-Gabriel. Of the eight summer signings, only Duverne, Komert, Douglas Augusto and Mathis Abline remain, with the club hoping “Transpose” (Gourvennec) On the field he achieves everything well in training.