Football Season Guide

FC Twente claimed their first Eredivisie title back in 2010, but things went rapidly downhill from there. Financial mismanagement resulted in huge problems in Enschede and the club had to deal with several point deductions during the last season. The Dutch FA even decided to drop FC Twente to the Jupiler League, but they changed that decision later on. FC Twente only just survived and they will be a part of the Eredivisie 2016/17 season. Things once looked great when FC Twente even entered the Champions League not so long ago, but bouncing back and making the club healthy again is the first priority at the moment. The Enschede side had to sell the best players over the recent years, which resulted in a disappointing 13th spot last campaign. Manager René Hake will have to show his creativity again during the next season as a lot of youngsters and inexperienced players will be included in FC Twente's match squad. Hakim Ziyech, possibly the best Eredivisie player last season, is still in Enschede at the moment but an outgoing transfer seems only like a matter of time to be honest. Ziyech pushed the performances to a higher level with his goals and assists to say the least and he will join a better club before the transfer deadline. Felipe Gutierrez, another regular on the midfield, left the club to play for Real Betis and loan players like Bruno Uvini and Zakaria El Azzouzi left the club as well. FC Twente is weakened with that in mind and they haven't been able to award the squad with a quality boost. Dylan Seys came over on loan from Club Brugge, but he still has everything to prove and he will need some time to adjust. Kyle Ebecilio and Shadrach Eghan are back in Enschede, but they won't strengthen the side to be honest. Enes Unal and Yew Yeboah came over from Manchester City, but these young players still have everything to prove. Hake will face a tough task once again this season. The big stadium is still there, but bouncing back to a spot in the top half of the table could be a bridge too far. There won't be any funds available to add experienced and well-known players to the squad and the club will have to show its creativity on the market to complete the squad for the upcoming season. Homegrown players like Joachim Andersen and Hidde ter Avest are a year older now, but the club can't expect a leading role from them. Twente will be struggling for a couple more years and dealing with the financial problems will be the main mission instead of really pushing for a top five classification again. FC Twente will be a mix of youngsters, loan players and inexperienced new signings and the question is now how soon will they perform. Avoiding a drop into the danger zone during the early stages of the season will be a goal as well with that in mind.