With key returns and new recruits, OGC Nice coach Franck Haise is preparing a remodeled eleven to face Nantes

Patrick Vieira returned to see the Aiglons last Friday, and it was rather good news for Franck Haise . The Gym beat the Genoa of the ex-Nice coach 3-2 in a friendly, with a double from Kevin Carlos and playing time for the rookie Tiago Gouveia and the returning Morgan Sanson (he had played 8 minutes of play at Le Havre), Dante and Tanguy Ndombélé.

The squad was missing six internationals (Yéhvann Diouf, Juma Bah, Antoine Mendy, Charles Vanhoutte, Salis Abdul Samed, Hicham Boudaoui) but the coach has found depth and possibilities to redraw his eleven, perhaps as early as tomorrow against Nantes (5 p.m.).

Dante and Melvin Bard in the central three?

Dante and all his experience returned to the three-man defense from the kick-off against the current 15th in Serie A, with Kojo Oppong on the Brazilian's right and Melvin Bard on the left.

A combination forced by absences, but not only since the arrival of the versatile Tiago Gouveia, who played at left-back last Friday. A position that the Nice management studied throughout the last transfer window, and probably not only in anticipation of Bard's possible departure.

Reliable defensively, at ease when he was replaced ten times as a central defender, the left-hander had a very good season last year (2 goals, 1 assist) and earned the captain's armband in the absence of Dante, proof of his coach's confidence.

But he doesn't have the offensive stats of Jonathan Clauss (3 goals, 11 assists in all competitions) in the animation that Franck Haise likes to see in the wings. Predispositions that the 24-year-old Portuguese, naturally inclined towards attack, could offer, along with models recently mentioned in our columns like Gonçalo Guedes or Salvio.

If the hypothesis is confirmed, Juma Bah and Kojo Oppong would fight for the right-back spot, with the latter slightly ahead in terms of performance. Antoine Mendy would start from further back after his setbacks in Le Havre (3-1 defeat).

A week of firsts for Charles Vanhoutte

Conversely, the last two weeks have been quite exciting for 26-year-old Charles Vanhoutte . Fresh off his first cap with the Belgian national team, the former Union Saint-Gilloise defensive midfielder met his new teammates on Monday (inset photo).

With five full Jupiler League matches already under his belt, he is naturally a candidate for an immediate place in the starting eleven, unlike Tanguy Ndombélé , with whom no risks will be taken, as his absence from the UEFA list shows.

Being able to count on Morgan Sanson again, in addition to Abdul Samed , is on the other hand an excellent solution to give Boudaoui a break in the event that the Algerian has heavy legs after the international break.

A substitute in the last two Ligue 1 matches and not called up by Nigeria, Terem Moffi was also exempted from the friendly match to offset the demands of his start to the season for a striker returning from a serious injury.

Anticipating, managing, playing off the competition, Franck Haise and his staff have a new horizon opening up to them with the growing squad.