Football Season Guide

KAA Gent

In


Hugo Cuypers (att) Mechelen; Anderson Niangbo (mid) Sturm Graz – end of loan; Jordan Botaka (mid) Fortuna Sittard – end of loan

Out


Sinan Bolat (sp) (gk) Westerlo; Roman Bezus (sp) (mid) released; Vakoun Bayo (att) Charleroi; Christopher Operi (sp) (def) released; Jordan Torunarigha (sp) (def) Hertha Berlin; Osman Bukari (att) Red Star Belgrade; Younes Malede (sp) (att) Mechelen; Giorgi Chakvetadze (mid) Slovan Bratislava – on loan; Adewale Oladoye (sp) (mid) Trencin

It was a decent season for Gent in 2021/22 as they won the Belgian Cup and qualified for the Europa League, however, they narrowly missed out on the Champions playoff places, finishing 5th. So far Gent have managed to keep the core of the squad that performed well last season together including powerful centre-back Ngadeu-Ngadjui and ever-present midfielder De Sart. Speculation does remain over the future of key striker Tissoudali. The Moroccan scored 19 league goals last season and has had offers to leave in the summer but at the moment remains a Gent player. One issue that did affect them last season was niggling injuries at key times to experienced players. So far there has only been one addition during the summer transfer window, with Cuypers being brought in. It looks a shrewd move with the forward impressing for Mechelen last season scoring 13 goals and contributing 10 assists. At the moment Gent have a formidable starting XI but are lacking squad depth especially if they progress in Europe. If they manage to address this problem before the transfer window closes and keep hold of Tissoudali they could mount a title challenge this season.

Target


With the players at their disposal their minimum target should be a top four finish.