Football Season Guide

Heracles Almelo

In


Luca de la Torre (mid) FC Fulham; Rai Vloet (att) Excelsior; Sinan Bakis (att) Admira Wacker; Noah Fadiga (def) Brugge Reserves; Marco Rente (def) Borussia Dortmund II; Rohat Agca (mid) FC Twente U19;

Out


Cyriel Dessers (k)(att) KRC Genk, Niels Leemhuis (mid) Excelsior ’31, Reuven Niemeijer (mid) Excelsior, Dario van den Buijs (sp)(def) Beerschot V.A., Sebastian Jakubiak (mid) Magdeburg, Jelle van Benthem (def) SV Straelen, Joey Konings (r)(att) De Graafschap, Jesper Drost (r)(mid) PEC Zwolle, Maximilian Rossmann (sp)(def) Viktoria Koln; Dabney dos Santos (sp)(att) released; Mohammed Osman (r)(mid) released; Alexander Merkel (r)(mid) released; Stephen Sama (sp)(def) released; Mauro Júnior (r)(mid) PSV Eindhoven - end of loan;

The previous season was in line with expectations. The goal was to enter the play-offs and they succeeded, as at the time of the suspension they were in 8th position. After a difficult start to the season (two points in the first 4 rounds), experienced coach Frank Wormuth was able to give balance to the team and gradually climb the table. Once again Almelo proved fertile ground for forwards. The previous season Adrian Dalmau had scored 19 goals, and in this one Cyriel Dessers was the top scorer (along with Steven Berghuis of Feyenoord) with 15 goals in 26 rounds. Unfortunately, the Belgian striker returned home to Genk. It was not the only bad news for the Heraclieden supporters who saw other important players leave, especially in midfield, the sector that has weakened the most. Four midfielders, often first-string players left Almelo: Jesper Drost, Mo Osman, Alexander Merkel and Mauro Júnior. As if that were not enough, Joey Konings, often Dessers' attack partner, was also sold. At the moment, apart from the defence, which they have reinforced with two new signings, Noah Fadiga and Marco Rente, the other sectors still incomplete. In particular the midfield, where they have only made one purchase, Luca de la Torre from Fulham.

Target


In recent years Heracles have been steady (10th, 7th and 8th over the last three years), so the logical goal would be to enter the playoff zone. However, during the summer they sold many major players without buying any of the same level. At this point survival could be the most realistic target.