Nice rejected chance to sign Monaco’s Eliesse Ben Seghir | OneFootball

France Bleu have revealed that OGC Nice passed up the chance to sign Eliesse Ben Seghir (18), who ultimately signed for local rivals AS Monaco.

Ben Seghir has been one of Ligue 1’s revelations of the season, despite only making his debut in late December. He marked his debut with a brace against AJ Auxerre and has since been a mainstay in Philippe Clement’s side. He is an eye-catching element of Monaco’s attack and is a key instrument in the club’s unbeaten run in Ligue 1 in 2023.

However, he almost signed for local rivals Nice. Eliesse’s brother, Salim, who was at Les Aiglons’ academy back in the spring of 2019, recommended that Nice sign Eliesse, who at the time was playing amateur football down the coast at Fréjus Saint-Raphaël.

Nice followed Salim’s recommendation and gave Eliesse a trial, but the club adjudged the latter to be “too frail.” Eliesse, therefore, returned to amateur football for a year before catching the eye of Monaco’s recruiters, who overlooked the player’s physical shortcomings, preferring to focus on his immense technical ability.

Salim Ben Seghir has since left Nice and joined local rivals Olympique de Marseille in the summer of 2021. He is currently on loan at Ligue 2 side Valenciennes.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle