Football Season Guide

Toulouse have re-established themselves as a Ligue 1 club with two solid finishes after winning promotion, and they should be confident of prolonging that stay after a solid first season under Carles Martinez last time around. TFC finished 11th in the league last time out, which was achieved despite the challenge of playing European football. Without that luxury this time around, their squad has been significantly reduced in numbers, including a handful of players important to the first team. The defence is the area that has suffered most significantly. Christian Mawissa and Anthoyn Rouault, both potential starting centre-backs, have been sold along with Moussa Diarra, while right-back Mikkel Desler has also departed. There are also rumours that Logan Costa could go before the end of the summer, which would leave them very short indeed. Charlie Cresswell has arrived from Leeds in the heart of the defence in what looks like a smart signing, while veteran Djibril Sidibe joins as right-back in what looks a far greater gamble. They will all play in front of Guillaume Restes, who is a promising young goalkeeper but one who can still be prone to mistakes. At 19, he is firmly first pick. The other big change comes in attack, where Thijs Dallinga has departed. He was vital in terms of his offensive contribution last season and they do not have a player of equivalent quality. Where TFC are strong is the wing, albeit Zakaria Aboukhlal and Aron Donnum both prefer playing off the right and there is not an equivalent on the left. There is no significant change in what is a solid midfield. Vincent Sierro will be an important player in this area, while more will be expected in the second season of Cristian Casseres and Niklas Schmidt.