The Ligue 1 club announced on Monday that Luis Castro has been appointed as the new manager of Nantes. He signed a contract for two years with an additional year option, having gained a reputation at the second-tier Dunkerque.

Castro has managed Ligue 2 club Dunkerque the last two seasons. He had previously held a senior managerial position at Greek club Panetolikos before returning to Portugal and taking charge of Benfica’s youth and reserves teams.

Castro led Dunkerque last season to the Coupe de France semifinals, where they were 2-0 up against Paris St Germain but lost 4-2. They also reached the promotion playoffs and lost to Metz in a semi-final.

Antoine Kombouare was fired by Nantes at the end last season. The club had fought relegation to the very end. Trevor Stynes (Reporting) Christian Radnedge (Editing)

(source: Reuters)