Ligue 1: "I have decided to continue and go to the end of my contract" announces Kombouaré

Antoine Kombouaré will remain coach of Nantes next season, where the Canaries will return to the European scene, despite his difficulties with President Waldemar Kita, he announced Thursday.

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• League 1 standings

“I decided to continue and go to the end of my contract”

, which runs until the summer of 2023, declared the technician to the press, after announcing it to the players in the morning.

“There is a fantastic challenge next year.

A year with 4 runs (to bring Ligue 1 back to 18 teams), I want to experience that.

It's going to be hot, it's going to be hard, it's going to be complicated.

And then there will be the Europa League … ”

, he explained.

Kombouaré had spoken bluntly the evening of the victory in the Coupe de France on May 7, evoking a

daily life with President Kita:

"It's like in a family, there are times when we argue a little

," he explained Thursday, after speaking Monday with Kita.

But if the discussions have made it possible to level the ground,

, in particular the recruitments of the summer.

“I defined a list of players.

I will judge on parts, but I have confidence

, assured Kombouaré, while the transfer management has already scrambled Kita with many of his coaches.

The summer promises to be tricky for the group from Nantes, with the already recorded departure of Randal Kolo Muani and those possible of Ludovic Blas, Alban Lafont or even Moses Simon.

Kombouaré will not oppose their departure in the event of a stimulating offer for them, nor does he expect the club to sign players not on its list.

Kita

Arrived in February 2021 at the head of a team that was heading straight for Ligue 2, Kombouaré took the Canaries to the play-offs for maintenance.

And with an almost unchanged workforce, he won this season in the Coupe de France the first Nantes title since 2001, with a very honorable career in L1 (9th with 54 points).