Former Canari Matthis Abline spreads his wings
Matthis Abline has completed a move to AS Monaco. Following a successful spell with Les Canaris, the France youth international is now spreading his wings.
A yo-yo summer
Despite being highly rated coming through Rennes' prestigious academy, Abline failed to ever break through at his formative club. After a brief spell on loan at Le Havre, it was at Nantes where Abline truly announced himself in Ligue 1 McDonald's. In the 2023/24 season at the Beaujoire, he scored five goals in 22 appearances in the league.
The numbers, however, were just a part of his story tha season. His versatility, blistering speed, and reading of the game made him hot property. It was only logical that Nantes exercised their option to make the move permanent and once again logical that Rennes exercised their buy-back option immediately after.
However, after a back-and-forth in the summer of 2024, Abline would eventually wind up back on Nantes to build on his season of promise. And Les Canaris' choice was justified. In the next season, he would score 11 goals in 36 games in all competitions. That was in a struggling Nantes side. It was his contribution that helped the club retain their top-flight status that season.
Abline with an unreal solo goal 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/d1ObdFJ0K3
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) May 3, 2026
But once again, it was the variety in his game and capacity to contribute in all phases of play, either from out on the left or up front, that earned him the plaudits. Then came the interest. His performances also earned him a call-up to the France U21 set-up that summer, but that was only part of Abline's hectic summer.
There was interest from Marseille and also from the Premier League. Determined to retain the forward, Waldemar Kita slapped a €50m price-tag on the player. "I saw that (laughs)," reacted Abline at the time. "I don't really know how to react. He has his opinion, so there you go."
Abline sets France objective
The speculation came during the U21 Euros campaign, which for Abline was a big deal. "[A call-up to the senior side] os a high objective, but it is achievable, too," said the former Canari. "I have to continue to work. I don't doubt myslef, and we will see in the coming years. It is a long-term objective."
Abline has never been short of self-confidence, even if his final season with Nantes was not his most prolific. The events of the previous summer, it seemed, did have a negative effect, as did the overall and collective plight at the Loire-based club as they burned through three managers and were relegated to Ligue 2 BKT.
Regardless, Abline has gone from the player who failed to break through at his formative club to the one that now leaves Nantes for a club-record fee to join a club that, like Rennes, have the ambition of mixing it with Europe's elite.
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