Football Season Guide

Zulte-Waregem start the season with ambitions to follow up the success from the last campaign and show that they can be a force again. They started last season like a freight train before losing their momentum but they still won the Belgian Cup and massively exceeded expectations overall. Francky Dury managed to unearth some fine players that elevated the level of the squad but it remains to be seen whether he can replicate that after a rather hectic transfer window so far. He has lost some major players over the summer and it will be very much a new-look side in midfield and attack. Losing both Lukas Lerager and Soualiho Meite at the same time leaves a massive gap in midfield so it remains to be seen whether they will be replaced adequately. Meite was superb as a defensive midfielder while Lerager brought energy, goals and assists from the position behind the striker. Mbaye Leye is the other major player who will not be around this season, even if he is actually still part of the club. He has been ordered to train with the reserves and will not be considered for the first team due to a contract dispute and a refusal from the club to grant the player a transfer move. Keeping Timothy Derijck and Brian Hamalainen at the back was important though and Sander Coopman arrived on another loan deal, having been excellent in the second half of last season. That situation is definitely not too helpful but Dury has managed to attract some pretty good players and it will be particularly fascinating to see whether the talented Aaron Leya Iseka can get his career back on track after a few injury-ravaged years. Julien de Sart and Gertjan de Mets are expected to become regulars in midfield while a few other additions bring depth and exciting potential to the squad, with Ivan Saponjic and Peter Olayinka looking promising in attack. Overall, Essevee may well struggle to reach the heights of last season but have the potential to become a force nevertheless.