Jean-Michel Roussier is not a man who hesitates. The president of HAC, if he tried to keep him, knew for weeks that Mathieu Bodmer was about to resign. Since the public announcement of his former sports director's departure, Roussier has been thinking about determining the profile of the right person to succeed the man who has participated in the promotion and maintenance of the club in L1 for two years. And the choice has been made, as revealed on our site on Wednesday, on Demba Ba. The discussions have not yet led to a contractual agreement, but for Roussier - like for the representatives of Blue Crow Sports Group, owner of the club since June 2025 -, the decision is made. The Norman decision-makers had established a precise profile for this position: they wanted a man, accustomed to high-level football, capable of carrying a « club project » with limited means. A director who is also referenced in terms of recruitment, capable of valuing players and who fits with the HAC's formative DNA. Beyond his past as a very high-level player, Demba Ba (41 years old) ticks these boxes. As deputy president of Dunkerque (10th in the last L2 Championship), the former Senegalese international (22 selections, 4 goals) has allowed the northern club to chain two consistent seasons. With last season (2024-2025) an accession to the play-offs of promotion. But it's on recruitment that the former striker has probably made his most convincing case. With mercatos - Gessime Yassine, Geoffrey Kondo, Naatan Skyttä... - which have led to the first sales in the history of the USLD (including the record sale of Yassine to Strasbourg for 7 million euros).

An argument in favor of Digard's extension? If he is to take the position, Ba, solicited by Lorient last month, knows that he will have to make do with reduced financial means. Blue Crow has however shown itself to be reassuring in recent days. The owner says he is ready to give, for the first time, some means in terms of recruitment. The passage in front of the DNCG will be an important step and will formalize (or not) the new ambitions of the Norman club. Ba will not arrive alone. To compensate for the departure (probable) of the sports director assistant Mohamed el-Kharraze and (certain) of the data analyst and game analysis manager Julien Momont, the HAC knows that it will have to strengthen its staff. Ba could come with Romain Decool, the recruitment director at USLD. Other arrivals could follow. This nomination of Ba, if it is to be implemented in the coming days, can it accelerate the process of extending Didier Digard? After two intense seasons, the Havre coach (39 years old), whose contract expires on June 30, had not hidden his intention to take time to determine his future. In private, the technician sees himself badly returning to a project whose only ambition is to obtain maintenance. Meanwhile, he is solicited by interesting projects. The reassuring speech of the owner and the probable arrival of Ba, whom he knows since very young, are they likely to reassure him? Not impossible. At the end of May, the Havre project for next season is taking shape.