His adaptation may have taken longer than expected, but OGC Nice winger Justin Kluivert now seems to have secured a place himself in Les Aiglons' senior team - just in time for a thrilling end to the season that will feature a Coupe de France final and a knock-down drag-out battle for a European finish, which will continue in earnest on Saturday against Mediterranean rivals Montpellier Hérault SC (17h).

Trigger

The trigger had already been pulled a few weeks earlier, but it was at the Allianz Riviera against OM (4-1) on 9 February that Kluivert really made his mark: two goals, one assist and an XXL performance to send OGCN to the Coupe semi-final and earn the praise of Didier Deschamps, who often crossed paths with the youngster's father Patrick on the pitch. "He doesn't have the same size or the same qualities as Patrick. But he's really fast", the France coach said.

The 22-year-old Dutchman, who came up through the academy and played in the first team at Ajax Amsterdam, made a slow start in Nice. Hampered by injuries, Kluivert must have felt that his previous mixed experiences away from the Netherlands, with AS Roma and RB Leipzig, were set to repeat themselves.

Delayed take-off

"He had travelled a lot but hadn't played that much," noted Nice coach Christophe Galtier, who welcomed Kluivert into his squad in the summer of 2021. Kluivert has had trouble finding his feet; he had to manage eight weeks of early-season downtime with muscle damage to both thighs. As a result, his take-off was delayed, as was that of his compatriot Calvin Stengs, who is also only now beginning to show his potential.  

Dante: 'He has to be more of a killer'

Now on the front foot, Kluivert is doing damage on the wing; he's fast, technical and not afraid of the one-on-one. But Christophe Galtier is still waiting to see him add consistency to his game and to work the stats (17 games in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, three goals and three assists).

Club captain Dante also made the same observation in early January after a win in Brest (0-3), where Kluivert had provided the assist for Dolberg to score.

"Justin is an artist who loves beauty," said the Brazilian talisman. "But he has to be even more of a killer, hurting opponents all the time. He has all the abilities."

Objective Qatar

A big fan of deep-sea fishing, as his posts on social networks revealed last summer, Justin Kluivert has transferred that hunter's instinct to the pitch and has enjoyed a place in Galtier's first-choice line-up since racking up several strong performances in December.

"Sometimes you have to wonder whether Justin is aware that there is a game to play. He's upbeat, carefree in the locker room," Galtier explained. "And then in a second, he switches to competition mode. He's on a good dynamic."

Rubber, meet road

Connections are now established with Amine Gouiri, Kasper Dolberg - with whom he had already played at Ajax - and Andy Delort. After the important victory against PSG last Saturday (1-0), this trip to Montpellier also marks the launch of an exciting end of season for Les Aiglons. Second in the league and finalists in the Coupe de France, Nice are in the running for Champions League qualification and a first trophy in 25 years.

These objectives are also important steps for the young Oranje (two caps with the Netherlands' senior team) who dreams of heading to the World Cup in Qatar. Will he still be a Nice player then, considering that he is currently only on loan from Roma? The player is said to be interested but Nice's sporting director Julien Fournier and the coach are not talking about it for the moment.

"It's too early to talk about the future of one or the other," said Galtier before adding, "but I know that the club has the option to buy."

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