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Report: Bedoya to sign with French side Nantes

Alejandro Bedoya

By IVES GALARCEP

Fresh off an outstanding showing in this summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, Alejandro Bedoya looks set to make the jump to a bigger league, with reports in France linking Bedoya with a move to French club Nantes.

The U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder had completed his short-term contract with Swedish side Helsingborg, and after weighing offers from multiple leagues, it appears the 26-year-old midfielder is ready to head to Ligue 1 to join the newly-promoted side.

Bedoya enjoyed a strong showing in the Gold Cup, with standout performances in the semifinals and final to help lead the U.S. to a championship.

Bedoya is reportedly heading to France on Wednesday to sign a three-year contract with Nantes, which finished in third place in Ligue 2 to secure their place in the French top flight for the upcoming season.

Bedoya enjoyed a strong run with Helsingborg, scoring six goals in one full season with the Swedish club to help earn a place on the U.S. Gold Cup and spark interest from several European suitors.

What do you think of this development? Excited to see Bedoya playing in Ligue 1? Were you hoping he would play in the Eredivisie?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Here is what the team’s 11 looks like before new players signs ( market is ending on sept 2 in Europe )

    GK : Riou

    Cissokho – Vizcarrondo – Djilobodji – Veigneau ( captain )

    Touré. . Veretout

    Bedoya Bessat

    Gakpe. . Djordjevic

    Sub : Zelazny , Cichero , Deaux , Trebel , Aristeguita

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  2. As far as Cichero is concerned , he did well in the french second division last season , being among the best central defenders . He came with reputation of a tough player , getting lots of red cards but so far in Nantes , with did not had to complain about his behavior . This season , he will have to face tougher competition and newly signed Venezuelian Vizcarrondo should be trainer’s first choice . Gaby would probably move to the left or ..on the bench . I appreciate that player because he was a leader in the group in the tough ligue 2 last season .

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  3. First sorry for my bad english . I am a french FC Nantes’s fan and I can tell you that if Bedoya signs as planned tomorrow , he will have opportunity to have PT . Right wing is deficient on our team and this is the position on which recruitment is most expected . For info , Nantes is the third club with most champions titles in France after St Etienne and Marseille . It is well known for his attacking style game and making talented young players such as Deschamps , Dessailly , Makelele , Toulalan , Karembeu..it also has numerous fans with average audience of 30,000 .

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  4. Bedoya is no Baby Bradley, but this signing reminds me a lot of when Michael signed with Chievo. A young American player who plied his trade in Europe’s lower leagues gets stiffed when his big club suffers [Monchengladbach for Bradley, Rangers for Bedoya] and his development halts. He does not want to move to Russia where he could get paid, or to MLS where he would leave the European transfer ladder. He wants to grow and someday play for a Champions League contender. Eventually he finds an offer to play big minutes with a side in a major league teetering on relegation [Chievo for Bradley, Nantes for Bedoya].

    We know how the story ends for Bradley; he gets signed by AS Roma and has become a steady lynchpin in the Italian leagues. Roma are a perennial contender, and Bradley has earned the respect of Juventus and the Milan clubs, if he ever wants to change scenery. Alternately, I’m stunned that Arsenal have never come calling for him. They need a holding midfielder and he is entering his prime years.

    Will Bedoya move up the chain as Bradley has done? One can only hope.

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  5. This is going to be great for Bedoya we should find a way to get more Americans In more technical leagues. I always thought Celtic was a terrible move for him. Not his game style. Never wanted to see him in that crap hack a man league. France will be good but I still think Holland woulda been better

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  6. Hi there,
    As a FC Nantes fan, I wanted to give you some precisions:
    1) I don’t know if everything is done with Bedoya but it looks like it’s a done deal and the player will be on Thu in Nantes to sign its contract
    2) Nantes was banned from registering new players during one year by the FIFA in early-2013. I won’t explain you why as it is long and complex but the penalty is currently suspended by the Federal court of Switzerland. In other words, Nantes can sign new players this summer but this is possible that the team will be banned for hiring new players in the future. So far this summer, Nantes signed a defender from Venezuela (Vizcarrondo) who played last year in Lanus. Nantes also signed permanent contracts with two players already there last year (Cichero and Aristeguieta). We expect two or three players to sign in the coming two weeks.
    3) Someone in the comments above has a negative opinion of Cichero: here in Nantes and in France, we rather have a good opinion of this player. We are not sure that he will fit with the required level in L1 but not a bad central defender.
    4) Regarding Bedoya (if he signs in Nantes), I would expect him to play quite a lot as the team lacks playmakers. It depends though on the exact position Bedoya is ready to play. In the coach’s system, it is likely that the biggest need for the team is on the right side. I would be very interested to get your sentiment on the positions and roles where you think Bedoya is the most efficient! As a central playmaker? As a kind of No. 10 ? On the right side?
    5) Concerning Nantes, the team is one of the most important team in the French league history but on the decline in the past ten years. Now, the team is back after four years in the Second division, hopefully the team will be able to maintain but sure it will be difficult.

    Hope my comment will give you some useful information on Nantes and I hope you will be able to give me some precisions on the style of Bedoya. Please also forgive my mistakes in English as I’m not a native speaker!

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    • good info!

      as for Bedoya’s best position, many would argue it’s at right mid/wing. however, he is more than capable of playing in the middle of the field too. If needed, he could fill in at left mid/wing as well. he’s very versatile going forward. should give the coach plenty of options.

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    • Bedoya actually played CD for Helsingborg a couple of times in 2012.

      He’s pretty versatile, and I doubt he would have signed with Nantes over Herenveen (not an insult, just a slightly less precarious situation) without expecting more PT.

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    • Thanks for the info! Interesting to hear about Cichero. He was terrible in MLS a few years ago.

      Bedoya has an extremely high work rate. He is capable of moments of great quality in the attack, though will make some mistakes as well and is probably not skilled enough to be a primary playmaker or #10 in Ligue 1 (though he can provide cover there). He can play on either wing or centrally. If you have a need for a right winger, then he can definitely play that role. His crossing/long passing is pretty decent and like I said he works very hard on the wing so that even when he’s having a quiet game he makes a positive contribution. He is best when he can combine with other quick attackers who like to make runs forward.

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    • Agreed, great insight. Thanks for sharing and for English not being your native tongue, that was a very well written post. As someone who has no real team in Ligue 1 to support, this Bedoya move and your passion have pushed me to support Nantes from the States!! merci!

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      • Thanks for your comment ! I’m a supporter of Fc nantes For a very long time. We’re very glad to welcoming Bedoya. I’m sure he’s a very good player. He will be in the best condition to playing well at Nantes.

    • Foxa,

      Bedoya sees himself most comfortably in center midfield, just behind the center forward in a 4-3-3. He has said so many times. It is where he was most successful for Orebro the Swedish side where he first had his greatest success.

      However he has played either wing reasonably well and that is usually where the USMNT uses him. He is not a prolific goal scorer per se, nor is he a fancy player but he is reasonably quick, direct and is always attacking..

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  7. I worry if Nantes can stay up…I remember when they went down 6 or 7 years ago…it was all the talk…then they promoted a couple years ago and then went down again…can only hope they will stick around….hopefully bedoya will get playing time, the french league has a lot of parity (monaco notwithstanding) so hopefully everything will work out…at least we can see him on BeIN

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    • Bedoya improved deeper into the tournament. If Donovan’s your mark for “outstanding,” then you’re right that Bedoya wasn’t “outstanding”.

      Otherwise, you’d be wrong to say that he didn’t play well.

      He definitely raised his stock by playing well against the knockout round teams.

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  8. Excited to see him get into a bigger league and push his game further. We (USMNT) could really use his energy and speed on the wings.

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  9. I like the move, and wish more of our players would land in the French League over the English Championship, Scotland, Sweden, and Norway. Holland & France should be where our young (18-23 year old) players should target to develop and gain experience before going to the big 4 leagues.
    Holland for Strikers/Attacking Midfielders; France for Wingers, CDM’s, & CB’s.

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    • Excellent point.

      As someone mentioned earlier, the decision makeing process hinges more on the player’s personal preferences and agency than is usually detailed in the media.

      Bedoya had a few offers..one would think he probably wanted to stay in Sweden, having established himself…

      Who knows whta the inner workings are as far as these signings go..

      Good luck to Bedoya.. hopefully France works out.

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  10. Whoa, didn’t see this one coming. If he’s headed to Nantes this is SWEET. Nantes has GREAT history with developing players and if he’s headed there he’ll get LOTS of playing time. Nantes is actually my surprise team in L1 this season. They should be fun to watch.

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    • Nantes has a transfer ban currently and have not made any improvements to their squad at all this window. Beyoda will have a chance to play but I fear that Nantes is only signing him out of the fact they can only sign out of contract players (see: Rangers) and not because they were in love with him and had to have him. Its a situation that the timing was perfect for Bedoya and the need was there for Nantes. Realistically Nantes will certainly be in the favorites section for relegation based on the inability to bolster the squad ahead of the top flight campaign

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      • According to France Football’s web site, they have brought in three other new players this summer, including center back Gabriel Cichero (600k Euro fee) from Caracas FC. Didn’t he have a brief stint in MLS with the Metrostars/Red Bulls at some point? That site also says that Bedoya is due to have his medical and sign his contract on Thursday.

      • Cichero did play for the RB during the Osorio years, and he was dreadfully awful. Cichero played only eight games in which he got a red and a 2-game suspension, until being benched for the playoffs.

        For a centerback he complained about the “physicality” of MLS. Oh boy. He was one of those players who was good for one big gaffe a game, leading to an opposition goal.

        If he is a starter, expect Nantes to leak goals left and right.

      • No ban for FC Nantes until september, they’re OK for this summer Mercato.
        They bought Oswaldo Vizcarrondo from Lanus and Alejandro Bedoya is the second signing.
        Silvio Romero striker from Lanus too is on his way to Nantes.
        The team will have just one goal, staying in L1. It’s gonna be hard, but Bedoya will play a lot. Nantes has one of the best academy in France (Maybe in Europe), and there are a lot of players very young, but very talented.
        Bedoya is gonna have an amazing training center, every players love that.
        He’ll probably be in the starting 11. As an offensive right midfielder.

    • GREAT. Nantes historically is a club that develops talent and sells. When they sign a player chances are very, very good that he’s getting lots of playing time on a regular basis. Last year they finished 3rd in Ligue 2 and looked good last season (IMO).

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  11. This is the type of a player that MLS needs to be able to attract. If salary cap goes up by just $1mm per team, guys like Bedoya, Corona, and Torres could be playing in our leaue.

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    • Good point although I don’t mind our guys testing themselves against top 5 league competition week in week out. Although if they get enough good players, maybe MLS can approach that level sooner than we think.

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    • The salary cap will go up soon enough. I think MLS is letting its owner shave some time of consistent profits before bumping it up again. They were in the red for so many years and stuck with the league to help it move forward. A deserved reward for many of them.

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      • I’d be salary cap goes up when NYCFC joins. I’d also say $1m is a safe bet, with higher minimum salaries too (see Clint Irwin’s piece).

        There’s no way the league will survive talent dilution under the current cap figure with 24 teams.

      • i also think a lot of these funds and allocations just get added into a cap “pool” that get tagged onto the salary cap. maybe MLS even allows a chunk (example, 10%) of the cap to be traded. a lot of teams use these funds and allocations in trades, so keeping that available might not be a terrible idea.

  12. He doesn’t fit their style of play I think this move is bad for him he should have gone to Holland. Maybe a mid table premier league team like Stoke would have been a better fit. I know this because I know better than himself and his agent his abilities and how Nantes’ approach to how they will use him and how other teams in other leagues that I think would be a better fit (that never put in offers for him) would integrate his skills into their team. Terrible move for his career and the USMNT.

    Ok…might be feeling a bit sarcastic this morning.

    Seriously, congrat’s to Bedoya on moving to a bigger league and bigger challenges. I know nothing about Nantes so I’ll just say the standard – hope he gets good PT

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    • thank you. Too often we presume to know more about a situation while only having 5% of the real information. Players, agents and clubs are infinitely more informed than we are from the outside. I’m not saying they never make the wrong call, but saying ‘he doesn’t fit their style’ or my favorite ‘should have gone to the Netherlands’ comments are usually off the mark.

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      • Or how about the posters who claim to know what a manager is thinking and what his plans are? I wish I could read minds, too. To me, that smacks of arrogance, which I consider to be one of the more repugnant human foibles.

  13. I saw the USA play at La Beaujoire during the 1998 World Cup. Great stadium. Not the biggest city, but the club has a strong history of success even though they have had a rough patch lately. And, they will probably appear on BeIN at some point during the season, so we can see Bedoya on TV.

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  14. He’s going to play in a stadium of 38,000 seats, La Beaujoire in a mythic french club.
    The training center is absolutely amazing, very good for him.
    FC Nantes is the 3rd biggest club in France in term of Palmares.
    Very good move.
    Better for him to play in Ligue 1 than Erdivisie.

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      • bigger club and better league…true

        but the risk (and I think that you are alluding to that) with most club moves is are they going to develop his game appropriately and will he get PT…

        I agree, but I really like Ligue 1

  15. I like that he’s going to the French top flight, and I’m only concerned with this club’s ability to stay there. If Bedoya starts, he will get to play at some great venues and earn valuable experience. Who knows, I could see him staying in France and succeeding instead of “stepping up” to a better league. His step up will probably be to a higher caliber club, at least I hope…

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  16. He deserves it. Congrats to Alejandro. I feel like he’s been a bit unlucky with both club and country. Glad to see things turning around for him

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  17. For a couple years he’s seemed like a player that was on the cusp. Hopefully this move puts him in a squad where he can learn and take that next step.

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