Nicolas Cozza's rollercoaster journey in French football has taken another dramatic turn. The Wolfsburg loanee played the full 90 minutes as FC Nantes fell 1-0 to title contenders RC Lens on Friday, officially confirming the club's relegation to Ligue 2 with one match remaining.

The 25-year-old defender's story is one of promise mixed with frustration. After joining VfL Wolfsburg from Montpellier in January 2023, he was expected to bolster a backline featuring stars like Maxence Lacroix and Micky van de Ven. But things didn't go as planned—Cozza didn't make a single start in his debut season as Wolfsburg finished eighth, agonizingly one point short of European qualification.

His second season brought slightly more opportunities, but with playing time still limited, Cozza was loaned back to France in January 2024. He joined historic Ligue 1 side FC Nantes, then fighting to avoid the drop, and quickly became a key figure in their successful survival campaign.

Returning to Wolfsburg last summer, Cozza found himself warming the bench as an unused substitute. Just before the August transfer deadline, he was sent back to Nantes on a season-long loan—again without a buy option. History repeated itself when Nantes stayed up, and Cozza was loaned back once more for the current campaign.

This season, however, the magic faded. Despite starting 25 games, Cozza couldn't prevent Nantes from winning only five matches all season. Friday's defeat to Lens was the final blow, sealing relegation with a game to spare.

Interestingly, Cozza might return to a club facing similar struggles. Wolfsburg currently sit 16th in the Bundesliga, battling their own relegation fears with just two matches remaining. It's a stark contrast to the promise that saw the defender move to Germany three-and-a-half years ago—a period in which he's managed only 13 appearances for Wolfsburg.

For Cozza, the question now is whether his future lies back in Germany or elsewhere as he faces another summer of uncertainty.