Football Season Guide

Mechelen had an overall pretty strong season last year as they overcame a rather slow and painful start to become one of the more consistent teams in the second half of the campaign. They did so well that they were in pole position to grab the final European spot but eventually got edged out by Gent in a 2:1 loss and just missed. While there is disappointment in that, the coach Wouter Vrancken can certainly build on the strong run of form and try to make it a really positive start of the season and put Mechelen in a position to compete for the play-offs again. The squad has not been changed too much so far and most of the core players remains. In terms of new signings, the arrival of Cameroonian Samuel Out Gouet looks like a very interesting addition as he has been one of the better midfielders in Austria for a couple of years and seems like he has the quality to establish himself as a cornerstone of the team. There are good options in the wide areas for Vrancken but he is surely looking for new signings in attack as Ferdy Druijf returned to his parent club and now only Igor de Camargo, who is a veteran, and the out-of-favour Willia Togui remain as options. Mechelen can do with a bit more depth in defence too and they are likely to try to bring some more players before August.