Today, Djelan Morana (18) signed his first professional contract with OGC Nice after coming through the club’s youth academy.

The club’s fans saw him make his Ligue 1 debut at Paris FC on Matchday 2 of the new season while he also stood out for those who followed the youth team’s run to the Gambardella Cup quarter-finals last season. Born in Cagnes-sur-Mer on 5 August 2008, the left wing-back arrived at the Gym aged 13 from ASCC. “I’m really proud today,” he said. “It’s a dream come true to sign my first pro contract here, at home. I would like to thank everyone who has put their faith in me: my family, the club, all my coaches and teammates. I’m going to keep working hard to contribute to the club and make the fans proud.”

Maurice Cohen, OGC Nice President

“Djelan is a good player and as a person is a balanced boy with a good attitude and got his high school diploma last summer. Like Junior, Nassim, Brad or Everton, he’s a homegrown player. A really hard worker who listens. There’s talent in Nice and the best players in the Côte d’Azur region have to know that we’ll do everything we can to support them and for them to contribute to the first team. We have to keep going in this direction. Congratulations to Djelan and his family, because a professional contract is also a reward for them. It’s up to him to keep taking steps forward to perform consistently at the top level.”

Roger Ricort, Sporting Director

“We like the qualities, the potential and the attitude of Djelan. He came through as a winger, and has been converted into a full-back or wing-back. Thanks to the great work of his coaches, he’s developing in that role. He’s able to get forward a lot, has a good left foot, has pace, and puts a lot into everything he does. He still needs to improve in certain aspects, but we really have faith in him. He’s a good guy and can become a super player. It’s up to us to support him along the way.”

Julien Sablé, Youth Academy Director

“I’m very happy for Djelan. He’s a homegrown player who we repositioned more than two seasons ago. He’s improved steadily, and we’ve done what we could to protect him. He’s got the ability to play at the top level: he’s very quick, has a great engine and a very good left foot. Going forward, he’s a big threat. He still has to improve in terms of his defensive aggression, in one-on-ones defensively, with all the technical aspects that involves. He’s got a lot of qualities and potential for improvement. He’s a great player to coach and corresponds with the Gym’s mentality.”

 

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