Monaco make opening bid for Nantes striker Matthis Abline | OneFootball

Monaco have made an opening approach worth €15 million plus five million euros in bonuses for Nantes forward Matthis Abline, which has been rejected. According to L'Équipe, the bid was lodged as Monaco move early on summer targets.

Monaco expect to lose several starters in attack, including Akliouche and Balogun, and possibly Golovine if a suitable offer arrives, so they have prioritised the Abline dossier.

Nantes are said to want around €40 million for their leading attacking asset, who is under contract until June 2028. Abline has not matched last season’s Ligue 1 return of nine goals, with five in 29 league matches since August.

Despite a stuttering campaign in a side battling to avoid automatic relegation, the 23-year-old former Rennes forward is viewed as a lively ball-carrier whose profile fits Monaco’s style. He had already been monitored by Monaco’s recruitment staff.

Abline has often shone against Monaco, as well as Nice and Montpellier, scoring three times across those opponents. He opened the scoring at Louis-II last season before Nantes lost 1-7 under Antoine Kombouaré. This term his counter-attacking work was involved in all three Nantes goals in the 3-5 at La Beaujoire.

He was heavily courted last summer, with Paris FC tabling €25 million and Wolverhampton going to €30 million, but Nantes blocked a move. That period, coupled with his impending fatherhood, left the striker unsettled and he was benched by Luis Castro for the first three Ligue 1 matches.

Source: L'Équipe