For two years now, there is a determined left back full of gusto making quite the splash on the banks of the Mediterranean.
Melvin Bard arrived at OGC Nice from Lyon in the summer of 2021 for the miserly fee of just €3million, today he would demand a much greater fee.
The 23-year-old has established himself as a key cog in the tightest defensive unit in Ligue1.
In the cauldron of the Velodrome, Nice found themselves trailing 2-1 to a ten-man-Marseille side after Faris Moumbagna was sent off in first half stoppage time.
Bard controlled a clearance on the edge of the Marseille box and unleashed a grass cutter into the bottom corner from outside of the box to salvage a draw for Francesco Farioli’s men.
The youngster celebrated his first Ligue 1 goal this season with vigour and that is just how he plays the game.
His name evokes thoughts of a great poet from the times of William Shakespeare, bards in medieval Europe were skillful performers who played a vital role in shaping the continents’ culture and history.
The OGC Nice left back is living up to the legacy, he caught the eyes of Lyon at the age of 16 when he was making waves at Domtac FC.
Lyon Academy Alumni
He thrived in the famous Lyon academy alongside the likes of Amine Gouiri, Maxence Caqueret and Pierre Kalulu.
At the age of 19, he was knocking on the door of the senior setup after a plethora of impressive performances against his peers.
Lyon at the time did not have a wealth of options at left back often electing to play Maxwel Cornet out of position rather than give Bard a sustained spell of games his development yearned for.
When Lyon failed to qualify for the Champions League they cashed in on their promising young defender.
A decision they may well be regretting.
His passage to the first team at an INEOS bankrolled OGC Nice was not guaranteed, standing in his way at the time was an inform Hassane Kamara but when Bard got his chance he ceased it, his innate warrior qualities remove any doubts his physical stature may bestow.
The player’s no nonsense honest approach is hard to ignore, and he fit right into the hardworking Christophe Galtier system.
Bard is a dependable, conceptually he’s not the prototypical full back we often see in the modern game but that gives him more wholesome appeal.
The youngster can defend, an art a great deal of modern fullbacks has abandoned to practice, attacking wise he won’t set your world alight but that’s not to say he isn’t effective.
Endowed with a high level of game intelligence the player can quickly adapt to different phases of play.
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Positioning Nuance
He will forgo forays forward often slipping beside his midfield or centreback partners to give his more attack minded colleagues more freedom to express themselves.
For one so young his positional sense enables those around to be the best version of themselves in both a defensive and attacking sense.
Positioning is a nuance that is often overlooked but it is a core concept of the defensive art that OGC Nice create.
Industrious honest players like Bard are admired and treasured by football supporters, they produce high level performances with such consistency that sometimes they don’t receive the fandom they justly deserve.
Experienced observers of OGC Nice will know sections of their playing squad over the past couple of years have been excused at times for harbouring a lazy attitude, that is what makes a player like Bard so valuable to them.
For all the expensive high profile signings Nice have made in recent years, there is a growing argument that young Bard is one of the shrewdest.
The former Lyon player has all the qualities of a Shakespearean classic, poetic name, heroic heart, and a loveable level of application.
His rise to prominence is richly deserved.