On Monday, Les Aiglons will be back to work, more than three months after their last official match against Monaco (2-1, on 7 March). As they return to the pitches on an individual basis at the end of the week, here are the 28 players who will be at the training ground on Monday to commence the medical tests.

Those who are still around

The majority of the squad that will be there for the return to training were already at the club last season. Walter Benitez is one of them, as is Yoan Cardinale and Teddy Boulhendi (19 years old). The latter, who was in between the sticks for the reserves last season, was already involved in the first team’s pre-season last year.

Despite his knee injury suffered at Metz on 7 December 2019, Youcef Atal will be in attendance, alongside his colleagues from the defensive line: Dante, Andy Pelmard, Christophe Herelle, Stanley Nsoki, Patrick Burner and Gautier Lloris.

In midfield, there are other familiar faces returning: Danilo Barbosa, Pierre Lees-Melou, Wylan Cyprien, Khephren Thuram, Hicham Boudaoui and Alexis Trouillet, who arrived this winter from Rennes.

In attack, Alexis Claude-Maurice, Myziane and Ignatius Ganago will join up with Kasper Dolberg, who was voted your Aiglon of the 2019-20 Season.

Young attacking midfielder, Pedro Brazao (17 years old), midfielder Jawad Drame (20 years old) - who turned pro during the 2018-19 season - and forward Evann Guessand (who will turn 19 on 1 July) will also start their pre-season with Patrick Vieira.

The new face

After arriving in Nice at the beginning of June, Robson Bambu will meet his future teammates this week.

The Brazilian central defender, 22 years old, will start at the best possible time in the summer: at the very beginning of pre-season.

What about the players on loan?

Those players who were on loan with other French sides last season will return to Nice for pre-season.

Jean-Victor Makengo (Toulouse), Ihsan Sacko (Troyes), Yanis Hamache (Red Star) and Eddy Sylvestre (Auxerre) will be back with their former teammates for the first week of work. That will not be the case for Dan Ndoye (Lausanne), Adrien Tameze (Atalanta), Racine Coly and Ibrahim Cissé (Famalicao) all of whom are currently on loan overseas.

Three players who were part of the squad last season and who are arriving at the end of their contracts will be leaving OGC Nice. A pure product of Le Gym’s Academy, and with 119 matches played in the Red and Black shirt, Malang Sarr (21 years old) has moved on for a new challenge. Before leaving, the defender took the time to send a message to Les Niçois, which will soon be …revealed

Also coming to the end of his contract, Yannis Clémentia, the second choice goalkeeper last season (22 years old and with 2 L1 matches, 1 in the Coupe de la Ligue under his belt) and Arnaud Lusamba (23 years old), who played 31 matches for the club since arriving in 2016, will both move on to continue their careers elsewhere. OGC Nice thanks them for their commitment and wishes them luck for their future careers.

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