After an impressive loan spell, Super Eagles attacker Simon Moses has signed a deal that will see him remain at Nantes for the next four years.
The French top-flight club has pulled off a fantastic five million euros deal for a Nigerian star who is worth much more.
The former Gent winger joins up with Christian Gourcuff’s team of decent performers who helped Nantes finish 13th in the hurriedly concluded Ligue 1 campaign.
But despite being the most prominent goal contributor for the Canaries this term and claiming two of the club’s awards, Simon is not Nantes’ most valuable player.
Soccernet Nigeria, with stats from our friends at transfermarkt, highlights Nantes top seven most valuable stars.
Alban Marc Lafont, €11 million
The Nantes player with the highest market value is goalkeeper, Alban Marc Lafont.
On-loan from Fiorentina, the 19-year-old is one of the most-rated teen shot-stoppers in the world.
It is no surprise that Lafont comes so highly rated, having made his Ligue 1 debut aged just 16 years and 310 days in 2015, the youngest goalkeeper to play in the French first division.
Nantes would have to move mountains to sign him permanently from Fiorentina.
Despite representing France at every youth level, Lafont is still eligible to play for Burkina Faso, where he was born.
Abdoulaye Toure, €8 million
Up in second place is Abdoulaye Toure.
Born in Nantes to Guinean parents, Toure has been with his hometown club since 2006, and now as captain, the 26-year-old is the symbol of the Yellow Canaries’ past, present, and future.
Powerful and tenacious, the defensive midfielder is an unstoppable force of nature for Nantes in the middle of the park.
One of the club’s most consistent performers, Toure racked up 30 games in all competitions this term, netting three goals.
He may be valued at just eight million euros, but clubs looking to tempt him away from Nantes would need to part with nearly twice that sum.
Ludovic Régis Arsène Blas, €8 million
A 2016 U-19 UEFA Championship winner with France, Ludovic Blas joined Nantes from Guingamp last summer for €7.9 million.
Five league goals and 24 games after, the 22-year-old midfielder has shown a good slice of what the Canaries faithful should look forward to in the years to come.
The youngest player in Guingamp history to score a Ligue 1 goal, Blas can go on to be a Nantes legend.
Imran Louza, €7.2 million
Another Nantes-born youngster, Louza joined his beloved club in 2006 and has seen a steady rise in his valuation since.
A talented midfielder with an eye for goal, Louza was captain of several youth categories at Nantes before making and scoring on his professional debut for the club in a 4–1 Coupe de France win over LB Châteauroux on 4 January 2019.
The 21-year-old made six goals contributions in 28 matches this season to see his value rise significantly from €300,000 around this time last year to €7.2 million presently.
Moses Simon, €6.5 million
As confirmed recently, Nantes have secured the Nigeria international permanently from Levante for a sum in the region of €5 million.
Simon spent the just concluded season on loan at the Canaries, distinguishing himself by winning both the Player of the Year and the Goal of the Year awards.
It was a well-deserved reward for the 24-year-old who netted nine goals and created eight assists in 30 matches across all competitions.
Another similarly impressive campaign next time could see him valued way more than his present valuation of six-and-a-half million euros.
But the Nigerian would have to be pleased with his rating as Nantes’ fifth most valuable player.
Kalifa Coulibaly, €4 million
Coulibaly only managed four league goals in 21 appearances for Nantes this season, a drop-down from the eight strikes he recorded in 32 games last term.
The former PSG trainee is a beast in the air and a handful for opposing defenders, he would, however, feel he could have done more to help the Yellow Canaries’cause in the just-ended season.
But the 28-year-old remains a key man for Christian Gourcuff’s side, with the Mali international striker the only other forward aside from Nigeria’s Simon to find the back of the net for Nantes during a disappointing campaign.
You just sense that four million euros is about the accurate evaluation of his market worth.
Andrei Girotto, €4 million
Brazilian midfielder Girotto moved to Nantes on a four-year deal in 2017 for two million euros and has seen his worth steadily rise to twice that amount.
A tough-tackler who is also strong in the aerial duels, Girotto can pretty much do a decent job at the heart of the defence.
In fact, it is at centre-back that the 28-year-old featured in 24 of his 25 games for Nantes this campaign, showcasing his versatility yet again, and squeezing himself into the top list of Nantes’ most valuable stars.
