Heineken Red Star FC: Open the Footballing World - Season 4 Preview

I wanted to try out a new progression in our fourth(!) season. With the club having more financial stability, plus a few improvements from the board, I wanted to make sure to highlight our preseason ventures. This is includes the behind the scenes work as well as the fixtures leading up to our fourth season.

CLUB IMPROVEMENTS

Youth facilities have been upgraded..

..directly followed up by our youth recruitment improvement! The club has further backed our aspirations to grow through our youth team. Although we have only seen 1 player make the jump into our first team, the continued improvements will only help make this a more regular occurrence within the club.

TRANSFERS OUT/IN

OUT

2 players out on permanent deals, 2 out on loan. Sauvage was our backup keeper who became third choice after a pre-contract signing. Lefebvre, a fan favorite, had offers coming in left and right. After rejecting multiple, he approached me saying he wanted to leave. I was able to maximize the deal, and we had Keaton Parks that we could perfectly slot in.

Marangos went out on loan as we had a surplus of right backs, and he definitely was not ready to help the first team.

Sy was simply because we were offered cash and he wasn't going to play much this season. Maybe it will reignite his passion to push for a starting position.

IN

Anthony Maisonnial was signed near the end of last season on a free. As I stated in the last post, we needed to sure up our defense for our second season in Ligue 2, and that started with a new GK. Anthony looks like he has all of the necessary pieces to push this team from the back.

Valentin Rosier = our right back savior. After staying up in our first season in Ligue 2, we were given a bit more transfer budget to strengthen the squad, and we splashed a good bit, $425k, to secure his services. More than capable defensively and a threat going forward, he checks all of the boxes.

Timothy Weah, talk about a blast from the past. Weah joins for free from PSG after joining us on loan in our first season. Camara will now have another solid player to push him for minutes. Both will be huge contributors for the club as we aim for promotion.

Nick Hutchinson joins Keaton Parks as Peels looks to grow the American contingent at HRSFC. Definitely a project for the future, Hutchinson will look to add some backup in the midfield and push on in the cup competitions for minutes.

Martial Diane was brought in as a third option up top for us. With Bamba and Sane fighting for the starting job, I didn't like our options if one of them were to face injury. Diane will likely play a very small part in the season, but will definitely make appearances along the way. Looks a good, young player.

Mamadou Doucoure is much like Diane, but I have hopes that he can be a starter in the left back position. Definitely a more defensive option, I want to make sure we are less leaky at the back this year.

FRIENDLY RESULTS

All in all, a good preseason. Feel like a broken record, but we wanted to sure up our back line this coming season, and only conceding 1 goal in 5 matches in preseason will give the boys confidence as we head into the season.

Check back soon for more from HRSFC and Head Coach FM Peels. To follow along with the save more regularly, follow @RattledCrossbar over on Twitter for steady updates!

-FM Peels