On Friday afternoon, Patrick Vieira was asked by the press about the individual members of his defence during his pre-match press conference (Nantes - Nice on Saturday at 8pm).

Dante

​​“It is always good to get your captain back. His injury took some time, but he is much better now, he trained all week with the team. He will be part of the squad, and then we will discuss tomorrow morning (Saturday, Editor’s note) to find out if he will start or not. It’s good that he is back in the squad, he will travel to Nantes.”

Nsoki

“He got injured during the last match (Nice 1-1 Lille). Stanley was really beginning to find his feet, to establish a connection with his teammates, and so to lose him now is a real blow for the team. We don’t know yet for how long he is going to be out. We will leave it a bit before announcing it, but we can be sure that he won’t be available for the match against Paris (Friday 18 October at 8.45pm).”

Pelmard

“Andy is gaining in confidence. He has had some excellent matches on the right and has performed well through the middle. He is a player that still needs to develop, no matter what position he is going to play. The important thing for him is to continue to play and to learn from his mistakes. He is a player that is going to be very important for the club. He has the potential to play at a very high level.“

Burner

“I think that Patrick Burner is getting better on the right in every game that he plays.”

 

 

Sarr

“Malang is capable of playing through the middle or at full back. He has always used his talent out there for the team, even though I know that he likes to play through the middle. He has always been positive in that regard. The main thing for Malang, as it is for the others too, is to be on the pitch, in no matter what position.”

 

Hérelle

“Christophe will be back next week.”

*Hérelle came off in the 81st minute of the Mediterranean Derby (Nice 1-2 Marseille) due to a pain in his knee.

 

 

Atal

​“You always need to try to find that balance between attack and defence. Today, in terms of what he brings us in attack, we need Youcef more going forward than we do at the back, but I could very easily move him back there in a different tactical set up. We have spoken about his last performance and his importance to the squad. He wants to do things so well at times that he forgets his teammates, but that is the case for several players in our squad. You have to try to find that middle ground and to make them aware that you need to first play for the team in order to show your talent. I take his summer into account (where the player won the ACN with  Algeria, Editor’s note). We remain positive about his performances. He really wants to do well and that means that at times he can be a bit selfish, but physically, he is maybe a little less in form due to a lack of pre-season and fatigue. That won’t stop him from starting against Nantes.”

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