Football Season Guide

Kortrijk had a very difficult summer so far with their eccentric Thai owner Tan slashing dramatically the transfer budget, which resulted in the Reds having the smallest squad of all 16 top flight teams just 2 weeks before the start of the season. With just 21 first-team players on the books, from them 4 goalkeepers, coach De Boeck is not happy how the summer is progressing, but he is trying his best to add extra depth and there is still time for that to happen. Last season Kortrijk showed very good attacking football at times, especially in spring, and the emblematic top goalscorer Chevalier will once again be the main figure up front. Mboyo was signed to replace Perbet as the second centre forward in the squad, but Kortrijk currently don’t have any other strikers in the first team and if something happens to Chevalier this might spell disaster. With 12 players leaving this summer, from them at least 3 regular starters, and just 5 new signings made so far Kortrijk look a much weakened squad compared to last season. None of the newcomers seems ready to be used regularly just yet, although the young Iranian centre-back Naderi might be thrown in at the deep end straight away as Kumordzi will be serving a doping ban for several months at the start of the campaign. De Boeck used both 4-4-1-1 and 4-2-3-1 in pre-season, with his formation depending a lot on which players are available. The gaffer used as many as 7 members of the U19 squad in the training camps and, considering that for that age group Kortrijk finished third last season, it is likely many youngsters will be given a chance in the senior team this campaign. Two of those that rose through the ranks over recent years are Hoxha and Ivanof, with both of them likely to be receiving much more playing time. The general feel is that Kortrijk are struggling to make the numbers but, if they manage to keep fit one of the best strikers in the league Chevalier, the main pillar at the back Kagelmacher, plus the influential captain Van der Bruggen and the lightning-fast Ouali, who knows what could be achieved. On paper the Reds have 5-6 of the most impressive players in the entire league, the problem is that everyone else around them lacks experience and is of unproven quality.