Football Season Guide

Lorient are back in Ligue 2 after 11 seasons in the top flight, having fallen foul to Troyes in the play-offs last season. Consequently, the Breton side elected to part company with Sylvain Ripoll and have instead installed Mickael Landreau as their head coach. Although he has played more top-flight matches in France than anyone in history, this is his first appointment in a coaching role, so Lorient are taking something of a gamble. This is a new era for the side but they have not been particularly badly hit on the selection front. Top scorer, Benjamin Moukandjo, has been sold to the Chinese Super League, though they have so far managed to retain Majeed Waris, who would be a fine player at this level. However, he is being strongly linked with a move to the English Premier League. Goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte is the other truly notable departure and centre-back Wesley Lautoa has gone along with some fringe players who contributed little last season. Those players to arrive have been almost exclusively experienced, something of a departure from the club's usual policy of buying low and selling high. Typifying this is Lorient's marquee signing of Fabien Lemoine to play a holding role in the midfield. The only exception to this rule is Montenegro goalkeeper Danijel Petkovic, who is 24. Also in the spine of the side is Felipe Saad, who won promotion with Strasbourg last season at 33. In an attacking capacity, Gael Danic has joined up from Bastia and remains an interesting player even at 35, while Gaetan Courtet arrives from Auxerre to join the attack having scored 28 times in the last two seasons at this level. Additionally, Denis Bouanga returns after an exceptional season on loan at Tours and will be expected to have a big influence. Indeed, there are plenty of good options in terms of players returning to the club after such spells away, with Marvin Gakpa and Valentin Lavigne such players in attack, and Lindsay Rose in defence.