FC Nantes will be a step up in class for Cherries

Last season FC Nantes finished 14th in Ligue 1 scoring 29 goals in their 38 games. It may not sound like a tremendous record until you look at some of the sides that finished above them. They play at the 38,000 capacity Stade de la Beaujoire-Louis Fonteneau which was inaugurated in 1984, while the club was established in 1943. FC Nantes have honours too having picked up the Ligue 1 title eight times and the French Cup three times. 

Their current crop of players  include Papy Djilobodji who is a centre back that was closely linked with a move to the Premier League over the summer with AFCB and Southampton reportedly interested. But last week it was said that the defender is departing the club - so where is he going? Issa Cissokho has certainly just moved to Genoa, but may be a name that sounds familiar as he is the brother of Aly Cissokho who plays for Aston Villa. 

Remaining at the club though is captain and left back Olivier Veigneau and winger Johan Audel who has played for Toulose and VfB Stuttgart in the past. Another of their star players is Jordan Veretout (a striker that AFCB have been linked with) who plays on the right behind the main striker and hits a mean penalty - he's just become a father. This summer FC Nantes signed Icelandic striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson but he has suffered a foot injury and is now unlikely to turnout for the French side in the friendly with the Cherries.

Nantes manager is Michel der Zakarian who is in his second managerial spell at the club. He also played 140 times for the club as a defender. FC Nantes have been playing a series of friendlies in Belgium with their most recent match against KRC Genk who recently played Charlton Athletic winning 1-0. They previously beat Saint-Etienne 2-0 on 16 July with Yacine Bammou, their Moroccan striker getting on the score sheet. Their other friendly was against FC Bourg-Peronnas which ended 1-1.

AFCB may look more like a full strength side for this match as the build up to 8 August gets ever closer. 

Well done to Baily Cargill on his new three-year contract at AFCB and also to the U21s who drew 0-0 away to the Saints. It was also good to hear that Brett Pitman has scored four goals in three Ipswich pre-season games.

Does Distin complete the defensive picture for AFCB?

With Sylvain Distin poised to sign for the Cherries this week, is there still need for further additions in this section of the team? If Eddie Howe wants to play three at the back on occasion there could be need for more cover I suppose and there are no shortage of candidates.

AFCB are already expecting to go to FC Nantes to play a testing pre-season match in July, but have they more interest than that at the French club? Several reports have linked the Cherries with interest in Papy Djilobodji who is a centre back for the Ligue 1 club. As a Senegalise player Papy has won a couple of caps and if as believed, Sylvain Distin has all but signed for the Cherries it would perhaps be an attractive move for the Senagalise international to add to the French speakers at AFCB.

At 26, Papy is arguably in the prime of his career and with his success in Ligue 1 it is going to take a fair bit of negotiation to get him to part with FC Nantes. He has helped the club rise from Ligue 2 and will be very at home playing at the La Beaujoire-Louis Fonteneau stadium. Rated as a £5 million player, he is also being tracked by Southampton and I'd expect the Saints to be favourites to sign him.

Another possibility is Steven Caulker who has been strongly linked with a move from QPR to AFCB. With an asking fee that could top £8 million though it is not the cheap option. Whether the 23-year-old is considered splashing out for or not we will see in the coming weeks, but if he did sign for the Cherries it will put real pressure on Howe to play him ahead of one of AFCB's regular centre backs and it could mean the end to the club's most successful centre back partnership.

Elliott Ward could find his opportunities more
limited if more central defenders are signed. 

Caulker was part of QPR's relegated side from last season and that experience will not have been great for him and he also went through the same punishment with Cardiff City the season before. It is perhaps a recognition of how confident Eddie Howe is in Jason, Simon and his coaching abilities that they might be able to succeed more with Steven Caulker than the fallen Premier League sides have done.  

While the imminent signing of Sylvain Distin would seem adequate cover for the central back position, a younger rising star to also pressure Cook and Elphick would really put the centre back positions up for grabs. It might be particularly bad news for Elliott Ward who has missed a lot of football and will be desperate to show that he can still play in the Premier League, while Baily Cargill has already stated that he does not want a loan move away from AFCB.

The latest player who continues to be linked with AFCB is £5 million-rated Max Gradel of St Etienne, as reported by the Daily Mirror.

Premier Talk
Premier Talk highlights Swansea City and their accepted $5 million bid for Portuguese striker Eder and I ask what about Michu's future?

Cherries to chase special defender?

So far the transfer window has just seen attack-minded players come into the team. AFCB will surely add a left back but there has also been rumours of right back Kieran Trippier being on AFCB target list, although Spurs and Liverpool are also supposed to be keen on the Burnley defender. Whether another experienced centre back would also improve the side is also a consideration and while Silvan Distan looks set to go back to France rather than join another Premier League club from Everton, he is the kind of player that would add quality and confidence to a newly promoted side like AFCB.

Central defence is an area where I feel all three recently promoted clubs from the Championship could benefit from a major signing. If the Championship was all about scoring lots of goals, the Premier League will shatter teams that can't keep clean sheets. Elliott Ward is the experienced hand at the back, but his lack of games last season puts a lot of pressure on Steve Cook and Tommy Elphick to continue their good form in a more difficult league. Tommy is a good organiser, but this will be a bigger test. Individual mistakes will cost teams and I'd like to see another experienced player come in if the club can find one. Martin Skrtel at Liverpool is likely to sign a new contract at Anfield, Ashley Williams at Swansea City is already their captain and would not entertain a move, nor would captain John O'Shea at Sunderland who signed a two-year extension in October 2014, and I'm not to keen on that many more central defenders in the Premier League (including Jose Fonte) . 

Perhaps Eddie and Jason are happy with what they have. Jason Shackell at Burnley is a player that they know well, but did he do well enough last season? Some say yes. The Championship does not offer many alternatives and not many of the Championship defenders did well at keeping out AFCB's strikers last season. So it is rumoured that AFCB among other clubs (Saints) have been looking at Nantes centre back 27-year-old Papy Djilobodji.

If you look at the bottom six finishing Premier League teams you might find it hard to find many centre backs in those teams that you would give much confidence of doing better next season. Even WBA who finished 13th with experienced defenders like Lescott and had a minus goal difference of 13. Liverpool and Spurs only just managed a positive goal difference despite finishing in the top six, so keeping out goals is going to be just as important as finding goalscorers for AFCB. The keepers that Eddie has brought in have both been to the Premier League grounds and know what it will all be about though and that has to be a help.