PROFILE | Has OGC Nice’s Melvin Bard hit his ceiling? | OneFootball

2025 was perhaps the year in which we saw Melvin Bard’s ceiling. For quite a few years, his ceiling was set quite low. OGC Nice signed multiple players to try and replace him, including Joe Bryan and Romain Perraud, but on each occasion, Bard upped his level to retain his spot. Ultimately, he made the left-back berth his own, and just over a year ago, he could have even been an outside shout for a France call-up, given the lack of options in this sector for Didier Deschamps. Adrien Truffert was given his chance while at Rennes, so why not Bard? 

But in 2025, Bard can not even lay a claim to be a part of that discussion. It is not because the former Lyon defender has had a wild drop-off; it is simply that he has stopped progressing. Not a particularly attacking full-back, his upside is felt within his own half. He is excellent at tracking back, rarely loses a man, is aggressive in the duels, has good anticipation, and is good at playing out under pressure within his own third. 

He doesn’t rank particularly highly in any metric, but he is a well-rounded defensive full-back. Those capabilities also make him a versatile option, and he has also looked good (at times better) when playing as part of the back-three, not in the wing-back role. It is a job that has been demanded of him more often, given Dante’s fitness issues this season. 

A weighing responsibility?

And Dante’s absence has also given Bard more responsibility. On several occasions, the Frenchman has worn the captain’s armband, but on such occasions, there has been a notable drop-off in performance. “It doesn’t weigh on me. The armband doesn’t bring pressure; it just pushes me higher,” he insisted back in November. 

Bard insists that he is “proud” to wear the armband, but he looks better without it. Mistakes have also crept into his game. He took full responsibility, for example, for the loss against SC Freiburg back in November. Nice were ahead at the point that he gifted the visitors an equaliser, and he then conceded a penalty shortly after as Le Gym crumbled.

Those mistakes and a seeming inability to take his game to the next level have spotlighted Bard’s limitations. But he nonetheless remains a good left-back at this level; it is just that those links with a move to Manchester United have dulled and they are unlikely to re-emerge.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle