Nathan Zézé

Nathan Zézé (born 18 June 2005) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Nantes.

Having grown up in La Varenne, just North-East of the Nantes Metropolis, Nathan Zézé joined the Nantes Academy as an under-9.

Growing through the youth ranks of the team from Brittany, Zézé came to captain its under-17 and under-19 sides, despite being the youngest on the pitch when he first captained the latter in 2021.

During the 2021–22 season he helped the under-19s to a national title, qualifying them for the European Youth League.

At the start of the 2022–23 season, Zézé moved to the reserve National 2 team, whilst also playing the UEFA Youth League.

Having already appeared on the team sheet in Ligue 1 against Auxerre during the previous encounter, Zézé made his professional debut for Nantes on the 7 January 2023, during the 2–0 away Coupe de France win to AF Virois.

He replaced an injured Nicolas Pallois before half-time, as his team had just scored its first goal, Zézé helping them to keep a clean-sheet for the rest of the game.

Zézé is a youth international for France, having played with France under-17s until 2021, before being selected with the under-18 for the Tournoi de Limoges the following year.

A left-footed centre-back, Zézé is described as a tall and strong defender with good placement and anticipation, able to frequently win aerial duels and score headers, while also having many ball-playing qualities, comfortable with both short and long passes.