With Mario Balotelli now at Marseille, OGC Nice have been looking around for a new striker, but, so far, things haven’t gone well.
The situation at the French club is a tad complicated, as both the club’s president and director of football recently resigned, meaning a new team (with a very different approach) is trying to bolster the club to help Patrick Vieira.
First targeting AFC Bournemouth’s Lys Mousset, Nice have now turned their attention to Huddersfield Town’s Steve Mounié.
The 24-year-old, despite a decent start to his career in the Premier League, has struggled to find the back of the net this season with just one goal to his name in 20 appearances in all competitions.
Previously at Montpellier, where he was a bit more prolific, the Benin international has been followed by Nice’s scouting department ‘for years’, but there are doubts regarding a January transfer’s feasibility.
Despite ‘quite liking’ Mounié’s profile, with just two days left in the transfer window, Patrick Vieira knows bringing someone in that fits both his and his board’s philosophy will be difficult.
Wanting Valère Germain on loan from Marseille, the former Arsenal midfielder saw the move vetoed by those in charge as the 28-year-old wasn’t the type of player the owners want to attract.
Their preference would be a younger player, like Bournemouth’s Lys Mousset, but Vieira wants someone who can score goals straight away, which the 22-year-old hasn’t exactly been doing with the Cherries since joining from Le Havre.
It’s all a bit of a mess, but if Huddersfield and their new manager, Jan Siewert, are open to letting Mounié leave, then perhaps something can be done in the next 48 hours.
