Football Season Guide

Guingamp enter their fourth consecutive top flight season without head coach Jocelyn Gourvennec at the helm for the first time. The Breton boss is highly rated in France, and this term it will be Antoine Kombouare tasked with the job of keeping the Stade du Roudourou club among the elite. The former PSG boss was unsuccessful in a similar quest with Lens a couple of years ago, but this squad is stronger than the one he had previously. While the players who have departed the club have largely been peripheral to their efforts, they have lost influential central midfielder Younousse Sankhare, who has joined Lille. Meanwhile, the experienced Lionel Mathis has also left. Kombouare has not made any terrific changes to the panel in any aspect, though he has been forced to sign a new goalkeeper in the form of Karl-Johan Johnsson after seeing Jonas Lossl depart. Romain Salin has also arrived in Brittany and will challenge for a starting berth in the most unknown aspect of Guingamp’s side. While the defence was not Guingamp’s forte last season, they have not made any significant changes in that sector and have instead focused on reinforcing the midfield. Lucas Deaux comes in as a defensive player to replace Mathis, which represents a possible upgrade, while wily veteran Etienne Didot has a big role to play if he is to replace Sankhare. Yanis Salibur came into good form in the second half of last season on the wing, while Guingamp boast two major midfield prospects in the form of teenagers Ludovic Blas and Marcus Coco. There is a nice mix to their attacking players, too. Ronnie Schwartz is back at the club after a loan spell away, along with Sloan Privat, who was misused under the previous management, despite proving himself a very capable Ligue 1 striker. With Alexandre Mendy also arriving, there is plenty of muscle in attack – and if Privat gets the aerial service he thrives upon, there will also be goals.