PROFILE | Ludovic Blas’ leap of faith from Nantes to Rennes

After a roller-coaster of a season, in which they have drawn away at Juventus’ Allianz Stadium (1-1) in a Europa League playoff, suffered a humiliation in a Coupe de France final against Toulouse (5-1) and reached safety on the final matchday, Nantes knew, deep down, they could no longer keep hold of their most potent attacking player – Ludovic Blas.

However, the faithful Canaris fans would have probably preferred not to see the former Guingamp man put pen to paper with their bitter Brittany rivals Stade Rennais. Still, the 25-year-old had the courtesy not to run down his contract with Nantes to go on a free, leaving La Beaujoire in a €15m switch after four seasons of truly memorable moments.

Blas was Antoine Kombouaré’s Nantes’ driving force – a pacy and deft dribbler with a keen eye for goal and gifted with some serious ball-striking abilities. Who ran half of the Juventus’ pitch to rifle past Wojciech Szczęsny in Turin? Blas did. Who scored a stunning acrobatic volley against Lyon in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France? Blas did. Who dribbled past two Angers players to assist Ignatius Ganago for Nantes’ most vital goal of the season on the final matchday? You know who.

On the back of a successful 2021-22 season, in which Nantes over-performed in the league with a ninth-place finish and a Coupe de France title – Blas scored the final’s only goal against Nice, with a trademark torpedo from the penalty spot – Lille heavily courted the 2016 U19 European champion. Nantes stood firm. It could have proven their undoing, given Blas’ inconsistency and struggles to link up with teammates not as talented as he is.

He flourished with Randal Kolo Muani two years ago, but not so much the following season. Despite being given the