On Friday, Julien Fournier provided a detailed update on the latest OGC Nice news in a press conference that followed the official presentation of Jordan Amavi. Before Le Gym continue with the second half of the season, this is what the club's Director of Football said.

How did Jordan Amavi's return to Nice come about?
I met with Jordan, I spoke with him about the club. But I also apologised, and I don't usually do that. I have a memory… not a painful one, but I am hardly ever not candid with a player. But I wasn't open with Jordan when he left the club, because he really wanted to stay. We didn't have the necessary means to keep him and we really needed to move him on. I am not sure if it was a lack of courage at the time, but I didn't explain it to him in that way. I have an image that comes back into my head, it was our final conversation in my office. He came to me and said: "I want to stay, how much can you offer me?" I gave him a figure and he said: "Are you serious?". I won't say that we pushed him out, but I needed to sort that with Jordan. It might have been important for him to hear that the club, and myself in particular, didn't take the right approach at that time. A player's return is always complicated. If a player comes back, it needs to be with no negativity in his head. It was important to talk about it. I always say to players that we sign a written contract with them. But it's also a moral contract, with commitments for both sides. In order to re-engage with Jordan, I believed it was important to make a public apology. Because if tomorrow, things don't go well and I need to sit down with him, I want to be able to tell him. And for that reason, you need to be credible. It's not a mistake, because if it had to be done again, in the context that we were in at the time, we would take the same decision. But honestly, in terms of the manner, I would do it differently.

It's a loan with an option to buy: what does that mean for the future?
We are entirely focused on our season, the 2021-22 season. But when we take a player, we never do so with the idea of putting a plaster on a certain area for four or five months. We always have the idea or desire to continue afterwards. But then, it will be a question of our aspirations, our means, and above all, Jordan's aspirations. These are discussions that will be had at the end of the season. We have objectives to hit, he is here to help us to meet them. He has personal objectives. We have a transparent relationship with Jordan, the discussion will take place at the end of the season.

At times, there are clauses that prevent a player from facing his parent club when on loan. Will he be able to play at the Vélodrome in March?

Yes.

When it comes to the transfer window, will Evann Guessand stay?
It's difficult to answer questions on individual cases. The coach has spoken about Evann, I was also careful at the start of the season to say that we had four strikers, and not 3 as I had read in the press. Evann has a huge number of qualities. I think he is in the running to get minutes, he is a legitimate member of the squad. Unfortunately for him, he was injured at the start of the season. He had a great appearance off of the bench against Lyon and made the difference, he put in a rather incredible performance against Marseille, both in terms of content and character, because it was a difficult situation. He suffered a pretty serious ankle injury. It was tough for him for the first six months. But we are in a squad where we are looking for competition across the pitch. It makes the players grow.

Will Lucas Da Cunha (on loan at Clermont) be replaced? 
No, not necessarily. Lucas shared his desire - quite rightly - to be able to get game time. It's a club that had already shown interest this summer, and we were sure of their interest in Lucas, so we opened the door. It's good that we aren't blocking our young players. When our project is based upon their development, you need to open the door for them when the moment arrives.

What is your take on the rumour around Steve Mandanda? 
I think that's going a little too far.  Steve, as a player that I know well and that I spend time with, is one of the names that is often rumoured. But I don't think that Steve Mandanda at OGC Nice would be a good idea. We have two very good goalkeepers. We are pretty well covered in that position.

Will there be further reinforcements?

We are constantly alert to any way of improving the team, not just during the transfer windows. It just so happens that we are in the window, so it attracts questions, because it's when players are able to move. But there are several ways to improve a squad. Evann Guessand was injured for 70% of the first half of the season, his return will improve the squad. Some players who have been injured or unfit are coming back, and that's another way of improving the squad. It's stating the obvious, but it's true that until midnight on 31 January, we are always alert. We will be. But if we get to 1 February without a new player, I won't be saying that it's a catastrophe. I think we have the menas to be in the competition until the very end. Our squad has great quality. For now, with the only signing that we have made (Jordan Amavi, Editor's note), I think that we have reinforced and improved the squad.

What about Alexis Claude-Maurice?
He is a player that definitely has the potential and talent to blossom with us, to play and perform. I struggle to talk about individual cases, we look at things from a team perspective. I will repeat it again, we will be alert until 31 January. But being alert doesn't mean desperately signing a player just for the sake of it.

Has Justin Kluivert surprised you with his recent performances?
Not at all. He is one of the players that we have been following for several seasons. We are not surprised. He was injured for a large part of the first half of the season. But I am not surprised about his talent and commitment. Above and beyond the talent that he has, he is also a team player, who works a lot for the team. It's extremely positive.

Are you expecting more from the Academy?
Although there are certain areas of the club where we have performed well, in terms of the Academy, in my opinion, it's not been enough. Why? Because we have been able to bring through good players, but not enough very good players. Jordan is a very good player. He has been in and around the France team, has played in European football, we are proud that he has come back to Nice. But we need to be able to bring through a lot more players and on a more regular basis. With the standards at the club rising, that will be more and more difficult. It's a challenge that we decided to set and from which we need results. In the years to come, we need to have players that have come through the Academy starting for an OGC Nice team that is playing in Europe. We made lots of changes when Jean-Pierre Rivère (OGC Nice President) and I returned. We have almost doubled the number of coaches. There are the returns of former players who are very young - in between player and coach - and who have played at the highest level. We have a working group today, which allows us to bring through players of the highest levels. In terms of scouting, we have a network that has really developed in Paris, because we know that lots of players come from Paris. We also have our scouts on the Mediterranean coast. We have more and more youth internationals in the Academy. It might not be enough, but we have identified 4-5 players who, in the medium-term have the potential to perform for the first team. I am rather optimistic.

Were you surprised by the good results during the first half of the season?
I don't want to be pretentious, but it's not a surprise. We worked a lot, we took a lot of decisions. Yes, today, we are fighting at the top of the league. But we need to be there until the very end. We are half-way through, we may be in the running, but we aren't there yet. In my opinion, the league will become harder and harder in the months ahead. We need to continue to battle with the teams at the top of the table.

Is it conceivable today that Dante won't extend his contract?
With Dante, it was about the contract to start with, like any other player. But neither Dante nor the club are asking questions about the situation with his contract. Dante impresses a little bit more every day. Lots of people may have doubted his ability to come back from his injury. But being as competitive as he has been this season… I am not sure that the term professionalism is strong enough to describe him. He has provided so many answers. He knows and we know what we want to do together. I think he still wants to play. If he wants to do so, he will continue to play with us. I think he is a man that, in whatever shape it may take, will be with the club for another couple of years.

---