Florian Sotoca, Rémy Cabella on Nantes shortlist as relegation fight sparks veteran push | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, Nantes, 17th and second-bottom and four points off safety, plan to prioritise experienced signings in this window, with Florian Sotoca and Rémy Cabella, both 35, among the targets. This comes despite the reins being handed to a young coach, whose Ligue 1 experience amounts to five months as Antoine Kombouaré's assistant in the second half of last season.

The club plans to spend more than in the summer, when free transfers and loans were favoured to promote youth, a policy that underwhelmed and could see Nicolas Cozza, Hyun-seok Hong and Amady Camara return to their parent clubs.

Business has already begun, defender Deiver Machado, 32, arrived from Lens as a joker on 8 December on a deal to 2028. Sotoca has also been identified at Lens, while a move for Cabella is close, with progress on a loan after limited minutes at Olympiakos and his omission from their Champions League list.

With reinforcements planned across the pitch, a centre-back, a central midfielder and a wide attacker remain on the list. Coach Kantari also intends to lean on two scarcely used options for mainly physical reasons, full-back Fabien Centonze, 30 on 16 January, and midfielder Francis Coquelin, 34.

The stakes are clear for the Kita family. A high-profile January 2007 spree featuring Fabien Barthez, Luigi Pieroni and Jaouad Zaïri did not prevent relegation, the club finishing 20th for the first time. For now, Nantes are turning to experience in the hope of stabilising a troubled season.

Source: L'Équipe