Andy Pelmard to Nice? Clermont defender wanted by former academy club and Royal Antwerp

OGC Nice have made initial contact over a return for former academy defender Andy Pelmard, according to Sacha Tavolieri, with head coach Olivier Pantaloni said to have personally validated the move for the Clermont Foot centre-back.

It would be a homecoming for a player who spent six years in Nice’s academy before leaving for Basel.

Tavolieri reports that Clermont know Pelmard will leave this window, and that Belgian side Royal Antwerp have already tabled a €200,000 offer. AntiChambre adds that Clermont consider that bid insufficient and are demanding at least €500,000 for a player who has fallen out of David Guion’s plans and been left out of the matchday squad entirely.

Nice have not yet matched Clermont’s valuation, but are seen as prepared to do so for a player they see as a boyhood-club homecoming story.

Pelmard, born in Nice in March 2000 and eligible for Madagascar through his mother, came through the Nice academy and made 39 appearances for the club before leaving for Basel, where he made 105 appearances over two seasons.

He joined Clermont in July 2023 on a four-year deal but has managed only 39 appearances since, including loan spells at Lecce, Las Palmas and, most recently, Jagiellonia Białystok in Poland.

For Nice, re-signing a homegrown defender with Ligue 1 and European experience at a knockdown fee would be low-risk business, and Pantaloni’s personal involvement suggests the club see a squad role for him immediately. For Clermont, cashing in on a player already frozen out of the first team is straightforward business, even if it means accepting a fee well below Antwerp’s opening offer.

Status: Talks remain preliminary. Nice have made first contact and Royal Antwerp have a €200,000 bid on the table, but Clermont’s €500,000 asking price has not yet been matched by either club.

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