Football Season Guide

After 6 years under Mazzu Charleroi embark on new era after the departure of their much loved manager. Belhocine steadied Anderlecht in the play-offs last season and this landed him the job, but he is relatively inexperienced manager which suggests that Charleroi’s ambitions are not very high. Important business this summer were the moves on loanees Morioka and Osimhen, with both now permanently at the club and both destined to be key figures up front. The squad was weakened defensively though with the long-serving goalkeeper Penneteau retiring and captain Martos moving back in his homeland. Another important centre-back Angella refused to extend his stay at the club, which means that 3 of the nailed on starters at the back from last season are no longer there. Newly signed Diagne is a move to build new back line, with Riou doing well on goal last season when he played and now likely to be the main choice between the posts. In terms of depth Charleroi have plenty of players available for most of the roles on the pitch, but keeping everyone happy will be challenging task and Belhocine might consider offloading significant number of players on loan late in the transfer window. The new boss is unlikely to change the working for many years now 4-2-3-1 formation, with 18-year-old Iranian Delfi one to watch as the season progresses. He most likely won’t be starting much early on, but the fact that scouts from Barcelona, Milan and Atletico Madrid travelled to watch him recently shows how much promise he has. Delfi could establish as regular starter as the season progresses, just as last season’s top goalscorer Osimhen did from October onwards.