LASK Linz

LASK have had a superb 2018/19 season - they were eliminated from Besiktas only on away goals and went on to enjoy a superb league campaign that saw them finish second in the Bundesliga table. Sadly for the Linzers, their success has made it impossible for them to keep hold of their manager Oliver Glasner. He has received several offers from abroad and eventually decided to join German side Wolfsburg. Apart from losing their highly-rated manager, the Linzers also had to deal with the blow of Glasner having taken their top scorer Joao Victor to Germany with him. Glasner's successor is Valerien Ismael who, ironically, spent a decent chunk of his previous managerial in career in charge of Wolfsburg's reserve team, but also had a stint in charge of their first team. The Linzers have proven apt at bringing in players from lesser sides. They have signed two proven Bundesliga players in Rene Renner and Valentino Muller, while Thomas Sabitzer and David Schnegg join from Erste Liga sides. While keeping the core of their squad together, LASK have not signed a like-for-like replacement for Joao Victor, and this could prove a huge problem, given that they were always built around being solid at the back and need a reliable finisher to convert the few chances that they create. Given how well he has done, Glasner's departure could also be a blow, although it is obviously unreasonably to write Ismael off straight away. What is clear is that, while LASK have done extremely well over the last two years, not many Bundesliga followers will expect them to repeat last year's heroics.