Leeds United added depth to the defensive line with the Deadline Day signing of OGC Nice left-back Melvin Bard, who joins the Whites on an initial loan deal.
The 25-year-old becomes the sixth new addition of the summer and could make his debut under Daniel Farke in the weekend’s trip to the south coast to face Brighton and Hove Albion.
Below are eight facts and figures about our latest addition…
Bard has started both of Nice’s Ligue 1 fixtures this campaign, deployed on the left-hand side of a back five for meetings with FC Lorient and Paris FC. Last term, across all competitions, he made 44 appearances and scored two goals, one of which was against his former club Olympique Lyonnais.
Having developed within the youth ranks of Lyon, Bard featured for OL’s B team and eventually made his senior debut for the club in a 4-0 Ligue 1 victory over Nîmes in 2019. In two seasons in the first team setup at the Groupama Stadium, the full-back made 19 appearances before making the switch to the French Riviera.
During his first campaign with Les Aiglons, the left-back featured 37 times in all competitions, scoring twice and helping the team to the final of the Coupe de France. The fifth-placed finish in the French top-flight earned Nice qualification to the UEFA Conference League the following year.
Bringing a wealth of experience at the top level, Melvin has also featured 11 times in the UEFA Europa League. Showing his versatility and leadership in those matches, the left-back was deployed in midfield and in central defence, captaining the team on three occasions.
When he makes his Whites debut, Melvin will become the 14th Frenchman to feature for the Whites, following in the footsteps of our most recent duo Josuha Guilavogui and Illan Meslier. The defender is also the third player to represent both Leeds and Nice, alongside Ross Barkley and Kasper Schmeichel.
Melvin was selected for France’s Les Bleus squad that competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. One of his two appearances at the competition came against hosts Japan, with Bard lining up against his new United teammate Ao Tanaka in the Group A encounter!
Prior to that, the Frenchman represented his country all the way through the youth ranks from Under-17 level, culminating in three appearances for the Under-21s in European qualifiers. In two of those, he featured alongside former Whites goalkeeper Meslier.
Melvin arrives at Elland Road to bolster the defensive ranks and provide competition for Swedish left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson. The two have faced one another three times during their stays in France, each winning once and drawing most recently on the opening day of the 2023/24 campaign. On the international front at youth level, Bard came up against Noah Okafor in a 2019 meeting with Switzerland U19s.
