On Friday, the last day of the summer transfer window, Francesco Farioli appeared before the press ahead of Nice's meeting with Strasbourg (M4, Sunday at 5:05pm). Aside from the challenges facing the team as a whole, the Aiglons coach was asked about a number of individuals in the squad: two of his key players and the two latest arrivals. Here are his responses.

JC TODIBO AND KHEPHREN THURAM

"As we know very well, it's very important to keep JC and Khephren. I think they represent two important 'buys' in our journey and in our path."

Aliou Baldé

"He's a player we were following before our first friendly of the summer (against Lausanne) because when we were preparing for the game, we saw some really good things. We had very positive feelings about him, even when we played against him. He's a very quick winger who's very hard to contain. He can attack with his right foot, his natural foot, but he can also take it with his left foot and go for goal. In my opinion, he has all the characteristics of a pure winger. He's going to give us more options and he's going to make a big contribution this season.”

Romain Perraud

"We spoke last week about competition, and not just for the left-back position, because it affects all positions. Everyone saw Bard's performance in the last game, his great attacking and defensive display. Today, with the arrival of Perraud, we have an important player who adds value. He has excellent defensive qualities. He can also add value offensively. He has a very good ball, a great ability to get forward and a very good shot. He's also very good at set-pieces. These are small adjustments that will allow us to continue to grow as a team, while increasing the quality and competitiveness of the squad in specific positions."

Son sentiment sur le groupe

"We were already happy with the squad we had at the start of the season. Over the last few days, we've added a few players in specific positions who will add to the squad with profiles that are even more functional in terms of the style of play we want to develop. We've got everything we need to keep working and achieve our goals."