FC Nantes are staring down the barrel of relegation, with just three games left to salvage their Ligue 1 status. The math is brutal: they need to win at least two of those matches and hope AJ Auxerre—currently in the playoff spot—fails to pick up a single point. For a team that has managed only four league wins all season and hasn't tasted victory since Vahid Halilhodzic took charge in March, it feels like a Herculean task.

Halilhodzic, Nantes' third manager of a turbulent campaign, won't be staying beyond the summer. The club is already drawing up a shortlist for next season, which almost certainly will be spent in Ligue 2. One ambitious target is Olivier Pantaloni, though he's also on Toulouse FC's radar, making him a tough get.

Another name in the mix is Stéphane Gilli, according to Foot Mercato. Gilli famously guided Paris FC to Ligue 1 promotion last season, but the fairytale turned sour when he was sacked in February with the club hovering just above the relegation zone. His successor, Antoine Kombouaré, has since steadied the ship and secured top-flight safety. For Nantes, Gilli's experience in navigating both promotion and survival battles could be exactly what they need to rebuild—whether in Ligue 2 or, against all odds, back in Ligue 1.