The club's Director of Football gave France Football insight into the club's busy summer in the transfer market as well as his thoughts on the incidents that marred the game with Marseille.

CHRISTOPHE GALTIER'S ARRIVAL

Christophe Galtier was officially presented as OGC Nice's new coach on 29 June. "He thought his departure would be easier, given what he had contributed to the club," said Fournier of the discussions with Lille. "He wanted to take care of things on his own with his president, but it wasn't working and the situation was getting tense. It was at that moment that we contacted Lille. We had no doubt about the outcome of the talks, but we had to hold our nerve while not responding to the provocations, without fuelling the debate in the media. We have been accused of going behind LOSC's back, that's false." After "an initial contact at the start of the year", then two interviews in March, the ex-Saint-Etienne coach chose Le Gym.

TRANSFER WINDOW

For two months, Fournier worked to fill the gaps in the squad he and Galtier had identified. "The priority was wide players in order for him to be able to put in place the 4-4-2 he wants to play. If there was to be a financial effort to be made, it was for that sector. Gouiri has helped out, but he's a central player," he explained. "In my office, the team is on a board with the gaps to be filled. I've got the same thing at home. Wherever I am, I have that in mind. Each summer, it's the same thing, I'm completely focussed on the transfer window which — it's said — drives you crazy."

Fournier had numerous meetings, including going to Eindhoven on 22 July to work on the arrival of Pablo Rosario, fulfilling his "need to meet the player physically, to talk to him. And I think the player also has the need to feel wanted."

The midfielder was one of three Dutch players to arrive in the summer (with Calvin Stengs and Justin Kluivert). "It's a question of opportunities," explained Fournier, "But also of a desire to save time: Stengs, Kluivert, Rosario, and even Kasper [Dolberg], who've all been at Ajax, know each other."

SEASON START AND MARSEILLE INCIDENTS

On the pitch, there was a "frustrating" start for Fournier with the goalless draw against Reims before Lille and a game that Fournier saw as being "a sign, a way [for Galtier] to switch definitively to Nice, even if he had been here and been committed for a number of weeks." After that big 4-0 win, OGC Nice experienced "a sad and discouraging" evening against Marseille. The sell-out crowd did not get to see the end of a game Le Gym were leading 1-0. "It went too far because of some so-called supporters," Fournier told France Football. "We don't work in football, we don't play this sport, to go through that!" Both the Director of Football and Christophe Galtier quickly sought to take those incidents off the players' minds. "We emphasised the need to move on to the Bordeaux game. We needed to switch to something else and not let ourselves get bogged down in demagogical debates. Given the team's performance (4-0), the message got through."

ANDY DELORT, FINAL RECRUIT

As the international players headed off to join up with their respective national sides, Julien Fournier took advantage of the final days of the transfer window to fill one final area of the Nice squad. Targeted by Christophe Galtier, Andy Delort signed for Le Gym and was officially presented on Friday 10 September. “We worked hard and it’s the culmination of the commitment of everybody, from the scouts in our recruitment network, to the owners of the club who put their confidence in us. Jim Ratcliffe, John Reece and Andy Currie (co-owners of Ineos). We remind ourselves every day of how lucky we are to have them” commented the Director of Football. Although he admits that “some look to inflate prices because of Ineos and its financial prowess”, Julien Fournier is pleased that he was able to take advantage of the opportunities this summer, including the one that led to the former Montpellier forward signing for the club after exploring various options in that area of the pitch: “We worked for three months on a loan that didn’t come off. A club offered us a player for 10 M€, which was too expensive and not the profile we were looking for. At the end of the transfer window, the masks fall away and he was offered to us for free with a contribution to his salary. Sometimes it is a bit of a clearance sale. In theory, Delort wasn’t on the cards, but the door opened when Andy made it clear he wanted to look elsewhere, and we then got involved. He wanted to join us. Conversations with Laurent (Nicollin) are always healthy. He is a pragmatist. He understood the player’s desire to take a step up, he didn’t look to hold up on to him.” A final recruit to bring a busy summer to a close and complete a “quality and balanced squad”, concluded Fournier, who is pleased “to have done what they were looking to do.”  

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