In the latest transfer news surrounding the Nigeria national football team players who are arriving at the Abuja camp ahead of their AFCON 2023 qualifiers fixtures meeting with Sierra Leone, we have FC Nantes looking to do away with Moses Simon in the summer.
The Super Eagles’ vice-captain has been with the French Ligue 1 side since 2019 when he first signed for the club on loan from Spanish club Levante. In that time, he has proven himself to be important to the club, putting in strong performances. Those days now look to be over, according to French publication, L’Equipe.
Moses Simon, Four Others to Leave Nantes in the Summer
L’Equipe was cited by Tribune Nantaise, a Nantes-focused news website, as the source of the reports that the former AS Trenčín forward will be one of four players that the Canaries would let go of this summer.
Moses Simon played a key role in the 2021/22 season for the Canaries as they finished ninth in Ligue 1 and won the Coupe De France. That win helped them to seal the French ticket for the UEFA Europa League in the 2022/23 season. Simon, however, would lose form drastically and become a liability to the team for much of the season, causing him to lose his place in the starting XI.
His poor performances were a huge part of the team’s generally bad form in all competitions this season. He and four others have now been scapegoated as the summer transfer window approaches.
Cette saison a été marquée par des moments d'espoir et de doute. Nous avons lutté jusqu'au dernier jour, frôlant la relégation. Mais grâce à votre soutien, nous nous sommes battus jusqu'au bout. Ça nous rappelle pourquoi nous sommes fiers de porter les couleurs de Nantes.
💛💚💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/4Zwpv7IGCU— MSimon27 (@Simon27Moses) June 4, 2023
This is a sharp U-Turn from the club’s refusal to let him move to the Premier League in January when it broke in the transfer news scene that Newcastle United wanted to sign him. They also refused a bid of €5 million from OGC Nice, who recently signed AFCON 2023 squad hopeful Terem Moffi for €30 million.
The 27-year-old has a contract with the Canaries that ends in 2024 but L’Equipe, via Tribune Nantaise, now reports that the club will look to cash in on the Super Eagles winger this summer. In another report, Ouest France claims that OGC Nice are still interested in Simon. Simon, who is preparing for the AFCON qualifiers 2023 match against Sierra Leone, will leave Nantes as the club’s third-highest assist provider in its history.
Eintracht Frankfurt, Others Ready to Splash the Cash for Simon
Nantes’ decision may have been influenced by Eintracht Frankfurt’s decision to sign the former KAA Gent winger.
OGN (via The Sun Nigeria) is cited as the source of this information, which claims that the German Bundesliga side are considering making a bid of €8 million for the winger. The report also claims that Nantes could receive calls from Atalanta, Lazio and Fiorentina in the Serie A with all these teams very keen on adding Simon to their ranks.
🚨Official: FC Nantes survive relegation on last day of the season. @FCNantes
AJ Auxerre defeat to RC Lens sent them back to Ligue 2
Congratulations to Nigeria International Moses Simon. pic.twitter.com/WiLYQmkYtb
— ALL TRANSFER (@Allfcbtransfer) June 4, 2023
A move away from Nantes will see Simon represent the fifth club of his professional career since moving to the Netherlands to try out for AFC Ajax Amsterdam over a decade ago. It will also be his second club in a top-five European league, which is a status befitting the vice-captain of one of Africa’s most iconic national football teams, the Super Eagles.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
