Football Season Guide

Monaco come into the 2019-20 campaign off the back of a hellish season in which they narrowly avoided relegation. Leonardo Jardim’s troops played only in fits and starts last term, and were found to be lacking experience and mental fortitude as the season progress. Confidence ebbed away and it had disastrous consequences. If a clear out was expected over the summer, it has not really materialised. Numerous players have departed the club on loan – given the massive size of their squad that was inevitable – but they have toiled to clear out all of the deadwood. Youri Tielemans has been sold to Leicester but, in terms of other regular starters departing, only full-back Ronael Pierre-Gabriel genuinely affects the first team. Veteran defender Andrea Raggi has been released but this was a move long overdue, while they have been frustrated in their efforts to recapture Adrien Silva after his loan from Leicester. Meanwhile, incoming players have been frustratingly few and far between. Goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte – a very steady keeper in Ligue 1 over the last two season – has arrived from Montpellier and is the kind of shrewd addition they were missing last year, but otherwise they have managed only to seal a long-term agreement for Gelson Martins, who finished last season on loan at the club. With numerous players returning from loan, Monaco have vast depth, but perhaps only Youssef Ait Bennasser will be pushing for regular football, while Gabriel Boschilia has the potential but struggled to find his best form with Nantes after a serious knee injury in Monaco’s title-winning season. Uncertainty continues to dog the attack, with veteran attacker Radamel Falcao not certain to remain, while even the future of Pietro Pellegri is questionable. The Italian spent much of last term laid up, along with promising young Frenchman Willem Geubbels. More is needed, too, from Aleksandr Golovin, who sparked only occasionally last season, while Cesc Fabregas is set to be a vital player in the midfield. At the back, Monaco are either aging or too green. None of their defenders enjoyed good seasons last term and this is not an area that has received any upgrade over the summer. In short, it promises to be a complicated campaign.