Football Season Guide

RSC Charleroi

In


Adem Zorgane (mid) Paradou; Stelios Andreou (def) Olympiakos Nicosia; Stefan Knezevic (def) Luzern; Aboubakar Keita (mid) Leuven – on loan; Hervé Koffi (gk) Lille

Out


Cédric Kipré (sp) (def) West Brom - end of loan; Cristian Benavente (sp) (mid) Pyramids - end of loan; Ognjen Vranjes (sp) (def) Anderlecht - end of loan; Jordan Botaka (sp) (mid) Gent - end of loan; Saido Berahino (sp) (att) Zulte Waregem - end of loan; Lukasz Teodorczyk (sp) (att) Udinese - end of loan; Kaveh Rezaei (r) (att) Club Brugge - end of loan; Jon Flanagan (sp) (def) released; Massimo Bruno (sp) (mid) released; Christophe Diandy (sp) (mid) released; Rémy Descamps (r) (gk) Nantes; Nicolas Penneteau (sp) (gk) Reims; Arnold Garita (att) released; Modou Diagne (def) released; Valentin Baume (gk) released; Ilias Mouhta-Sebtaoui (gk) released; Joachim Imbrechts (gk) released; Theo Gace (mid) Molenbeek

Charleroi started last season on fire and were top for the first 12 rounds. However, a sharp decline followed, they ended up finishing in the lower half of the table. Last campaign’s dramatic loss of form cost manager Karim Belhocine his job. 30-year-old Edward Still takes over. This is his first Head Coach job, but he has built experience working for four years as an assistant to Ivan Leko during his spells at Club Brugge, Antwerp and Chinese side Shanghai Port. The squad has been trimmed over the close season. Of the loan players that have left only Rezaei was a regular starter. Iconic goalkeeper Penneteau has moved on and, with Descamps also leaving, Koffi has been brought in, he impressed at Mouscron last season. The other new players are mainly youngsters with potential. Centre-back Knezevic looks a decent acquisition, he was an ever-present for Luzern in the Swiss top flight last season. Charleroi look strong going forward as they have managed to retain the services of Ryoka Morioka, Ali Gholizadeh, Shamar Nicholson and Mamadou Fall who have proved they can be dangerous at this level. However, they struggled defensively last season and that is an area they could do to improve in terms of numbers and quality before the transfer window closes.

Target


Much depends on how rookie boss Still performs. His experience as an assistant should stand him in good stead, a good start is important. Have the squad to push for a top 8 finish.