Football Season Guide

After eventually climbing to a comfortable mid-table finish last season, Chateauroux will hope to perform at least as well this time around. It will be a first full campaign at the helm for Nicolas Usai, who took over in late 2018. However, he has seen several key players depart this summer. Maxime Barthelme, a standout performer at this level on the wing, has joined Ligue 2 rivals Troyes. Defensive midfielder Gregory Bourillon, once of Paris Saint-Germain, contributed eight league goals in the last campaign but has opted not to stay on. Christophe Mandanne and Oumare Tounkara have departed too. It is the kind of rebuilding job faced by many teams in Ligue 2 before every season, and La Berrichonne will hope the new faces can strengthen their squad. Among them, the powerful defender-cum-midfielder Issa Marega - 1.95m tall and weighing in at 97kg - arrives from Cercle Brugge in Belgium. The young forward Andrew Jung has also arrived from top-flight side Reims. Meanwhile, Usai will need to keep developing young talents such as Ilyas Chouaref, the young attacker who has rejected the club's offer of a professional contract. If the club can keep their young starlets long enough to make an impression on the first team, and enjoy success in the transfer market, then there is potential, but finishing any higher than their run to 11th last season will be a big ask. After all, they have managed only one top-half finish in their last 10 campaigns at this level.