Football Season Guide

Toulouse avoided relegation at the end of last season only by virtue of a playoff success over Ajaccio, coming through those two matches comfortably 4-0 on aggregate. But despite the ease of that victory, they know just how close they came to slipping into the second tier for the first time since 2003. Recent seasons have all been a struggle for Toulouse. They have not finished in the top 10 in the last four years, avoiding the drop by just one position on three of those occasions. In a bid to improve their fortunes, they have plumped for Alain Casanova to lead their side, recalling the coach who was in charge of them from 2008 until 2015, having been an assistant at the club for the 13 years prior to that. It is a conservative move, but one they hope will get the best from their squad. Crucially, they have moved to sign Max Gradel on a permanent basis, as he was one of their standout players last season. Otherwise, though, they have taken a couple of gambles in attack, notably with Aron Leya Iseka, who flopped totally in a previous loan spell with Marseille, and Firmin Mubele, who struggled previously at Rennes. John Bostock, a former Ligue 2 Player of the Year, has followed Casanova from Lens, though he had a difficult campaign last time out and did not show form to suggest he can mix it at this standard. Manu Garcia has joined up from Manchester City’s Under-23 side, meanwhile. Toulouse actually defended pretty well last season, despite conceding 54 goals, but they have lost outstanding young prospects Alban Lafont and Issa Diop, while Christopher Jullien may yet follow them out the door before the season begins. While Baptiste Reynet will replace the goalkeeper, no-one has come in to replace the centre-back, making it imperative that Jullien does not move on.