Football Season Guide

Monaco are coming off the back of a traumatic season that should have resulted in Champions League football but only brought disappointment after they picked up only 5 points in the final 6 games of the season. Consequently, they will only play Conference League football. Filipe Luis has taken charge of Monaco but appears to have a significantly reduced budget. While major figures beyond Caio Henrique have yet to depart, there are still sizeable rumours that striker Folarin Balogun will depart and Maghnes Akliouche will leave for PSG. He was vital to their efforts last term. In return, Matthis Abline arrives for big money from Nantes after a disappointing season, while Ansu Fati has joined permanently from Barcelona but was disappointing last term, despite glimpses of quality. Injury issues have disrupted preparations, forcing Filipe Luis to apologise to some of his players for using them out of position. Clearly, there has been some internal unhappiness early in his reign. There have been some improved signs, though, with a 3-2 win away to Liverpool a notably impressive success. On the flip side, there are still doubts over the futures of key players like Folarin Balogun and Lamine Camara – hardly ideal coming into the campaign. The potential that Monaco have in their attack is enormous, with Fati joined by Alexandre Golovin, Takumi Minamino, Simon Adingra and Georges Ilenikhena making up a talented group of players even allowing for the potential departure of Balogun. Denis Zakaria is also a powerhouse player through the centre and will be key to their success or failure. Uncertainty in the squad is a weakness going into the season, particularly with so many leading players from last term tipped to leave on the eve of the campaign beginning. Injury problems, too, badly hit the squad last season, with many key players missing long periods of the campaign. On top of this, inconsistent form within the squad is problematic.