Nantes considering Michel Der Zakarian for a direct return to Ligue 1 | OneFootball

Perhaps FC Nantes needed to be relegated to Ligue 2 to kick off the new era that all the fans have been waiting for. But for Les Canaris, change is not necessarily an idea that everyone is in favour of.

Proof of this can be seen in their attraction to Michel Der Zakarian, 63, who, according to L’Équipe, is being lined up to succeed Vahid Halilhodžić, 74, for whom the end of the season marked the well-deserved end of his career.

Having managed Nantes from February 2007 to August 2008, and then from May 2012 to June 2016, ‘Der Zak’ is seen as the man capable of leading the Stade de la Beaujoire side back to the top flight by the 2027–28 season. A task that seems well within the Armenian coach’s capabilities, having already secured two promotions with FCN, in 2008 and 2013.

A resident of the Nantes area, he was apparently even spotted at the final of the Challenge Espoirs, won by the Nantes youth team a few weeks ago. This is enough to fuel speculation about a… third comeback.

GFFN | Léo Aschi