Luzern

Breaking into the top three seems a little unlikely for Luzern at this point but they’ve made enormous strides since Frick took over. They’re no more than a couple of signings away from being able to do so although it could be considered to be a case of one step forward, two steps back with the sale of key midfielder Ugrinic to Young Boys Bern in mind, which tells you all that you need to know about the Swiss hierarchy. Having lost Kvasina pre-season when his loan ended, the club have opted to sign battling Uruguayan forward Ardaiz from the division below; the jury is still out as to how well that will work out. Goal-scoring was an issue for Luzern last season but it’s understandable that Frick has not panicked about it; Sorgic is a very good goal-scorer if you get him in the right headspace, and the overloading that Luzern now do with marauding FBs helps out a lot. Besides, Abubakar can be deadly if he feels loved so they’ve got options. Replacing Ugrinic in midfield is a nightmare though. In fact, it cannot be realistically done. There are players that will do a reasonable enough job but nobody that will help them reach the next level. Regular utility man Schulz was another pre-season departure. As dependable as he was, replacements are already in Luzern so it shouldn’t be a huge blow for their aspirations. Incoming transfers have been quite low-key, mostly taking opportunistic shots on players from the Challenge League, which Frick knows well. The group looks well-rounded, and they should be consistent with their desire to outfight teams this season. They’re light in the centre of defence if Burch or Simani is missing (and the latter is guaranteed to be suspended on a regular basis), but assuming one of their forwards is scoring goals, defensive depth and midfield creativity are their only real causes for concern. Their defence will lack physicality when Simani is out, and Jashari has done so well at CDM that he’ll be tough to replace when he’s out too. Key players: Dräger, Sorgic, Jashari, Simani