Should Nantes keep their Ligue 1 status for next season, the club’s owner and president Waldemar Kita would like to appoint Patrick Vieira as the team’s next head coach, according to a report from L’Equipe.
Les Canaris are in serious jeopardy right now. They are 17th in the standings with a 1-point deficit on safety with three Ligue 1 games left to play. Nantes will play Montpellier, Lille and Angers to ensure safety. However, their main rivals in the relegation fight, Auxerre, have to face PSG, Toulouse and Lens. Les Canaris dismissed head coach Antoine Kombouaré last week to appoint the club’s U19 coach Pierre Aristouy. The latter’s first game in the dugout ended with a goalless draw away at Toulouse.
The outlet report that Kita had already contacted Vieira to show his interest two years ago before the former Arsenal midfielder had committed with Crystal Palace. Vieira was dismissed, on Saint Patrick’s Day, by the Eagles and is now a free agent looking for a new sporting project.
The former Arsenal man is no stranger to coaching in Ligue 1 – he was OGC Nice boss from 2018 to 2020. It remains to be seen whether the 1998 World Cup winner would be tempted to coach a mid-table Ligue 1 side. The Loire-Atlantique outfit have no chance of matching his reported €5m salary with Crystal Palace. What is clear is that Nantes won’t be able to lure Vieira if they are relegated to Ligue 2.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
