OGC Nice’s sporting director reveals he wanted to trade with Manchester United during transfer window | OneFootball

It was a difficult transfer window for OGC Nice. The club, working with limited funds, sold the likes of Evann Guessand and Marcin Bulka, but were forced into recruiting budget replacements. Speaking to L’Équipe, Nice’s sporting director, Florian Maurice, described the window as “unpleasant”.

His comments comes amid a difficult start to the Ligue 1 season for Le Gym, who have lost two out of their first three games. Those losses have come against Toulouse FC and Le Havre AC.

However, Maurice has now told L’Équipe that he had hoped for a degree of collaboration between Nice and fellow INEOS-owned side Manchester United. With the pair competing in the UEFA Europa League last season, transfers between the two clubs were banned.

That ban was meant to last until the end of this summer’s transfer window, however, Manchester United and Nice both received letters from UEFA at the start of the summer, confirming that this ban had been lifted.

Maurice was therefore open to collaboration. “I spoke with Manchester United during the transfer window in order to try and find solutions. We envisaged things, like asking them to sign a player and then loaning us back, but their priority was to sell,” said Nice’s sporting director.

Asked about the comparison to BlueCo’s multi-club model, which has seen several players traded between Chelsea and RC Strasbourg Alsace, Maurice added, “I don’t think that’s Manchester United’s model. We have only had one year where we have been able to regularly exchange with them.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle