Hectic Start for Powell at St.Etienne

Transfer Activity in Full Flow for Powell

New St.Etienne manager Ted Powell has been very busy reshaping the squad after his recent appointment as manager at the Stade Geoffrey-Guichard. For a side who have enjoyed a miracle rise in recent seasons under Josh McMillan, Powell felt it important to try and not only increase the quality of the squad, but to try and increase the depth as well. So far, a total of twelve new players have come through the doors, while seven have left. Here's a lowdown on each of the new arrivals-

- Javi Garcia, Age-30,Rating-89, Position- CB/CDM/CM, Value-6.4m, -Joined from-Inernazionale. -The former Benfica and Manchester City player will start in central midfield for us, and joined as part of a swap deal for Les Verts icon Balazs Dzsudzsak. A versatile player, he could be key to us having a good season.

- Federico Marchetti, Age-34, Rating-88, Position-GK, Value-2.7m, Joined from-Lazio. -Although the Italian goalkeeper has had a decline recently, he's still a solid keeper on the game, and joined as part of the deal that saw Stephane Ruffier head to Italy. He will be our starting keeper this season.

- Ignazio Abate, Age-31, Rating-88, Position-RB, Value- 3.9m, Joined from Lazio- We were short of quality at right back, but the experienced Abate joins fellow Italian Marchetti, and, again, will be a starting XI player for us this season.

- Rob Elliot, Age-31, Rating-85, Position-GK, Value-2.2m, Joined from- Free Agent- Elliot joins as a backup keeper for Marchetti, for £1.6m. A premier league regular in real life, he was bought for a bargain, and will provide a solid backup keeper for us.

- Laurens De Bock, Age-25, Rating-86, Position, LB, Value- 3m, Joined from-Bayern Leverkusen- The Belgian defender Laurens De Bock joined for another bargain of just £5m from Leverkusen. Capable of playing at left back, which is primarily where he'll play for us, or left midfield, De Bock will be battling for a starting XI place alongside another new arrivals.

- Michal Pazdan, Age-30, Rating-87, Position-CB, Value-3.5m, Joined from- Borussia Monchengladbach- Polish defender Pazdan joined as part of the deal that saw Mehmet Topal head to Germany. An experienced defender who plays for Legia Warsaw in real life, he had an outsanding Euro 2016, earning a Man of the Match award as Poland kept a clean sheet gainst world champions Germany. He rose to an 87 in August 2017, and is likely to be a starter for us. 

-Genki Haraguchi, Age- 26, Rating-87, Position-AM, F(RLC), Value- 5m, Joined from- Borussia Monchengladbach- Haraguchi joins Pazdan in the Mehmet Topal deal. The Japanese plays for Hertha Berlin and has been linked to Brighton in real life. Capable of playing in an attacking midfield role, up front, or on either wing, Haraguchi is an extremely versatile and talented player who will fit straight into our first team.

- Dereck Kutesa, Age-20, Rating- 75, Position- M/AM (RL), Value- 6ook, Joined from-Free Agent- Kutesa is a young winger, who recently turned 20, and was a free agent who arrives for £450k. On loan at Luzern from a Basel side who have a history for producing talent in recent years, he has played a total of thirteen games in all competitions for top division Luzern, so far this season in real life. Bit of a gamble but at a cheap price, we hope Kutesa can turn into a decent player. 

- Luca Cigarini, Age- 31, Rating-87, Position- DM/CM/CAM, Value- 2.4m, Joined from- Leicester City- Cigarini has come in for a cheap £2.5m and will provide competition for those central midfield areas. Experienced and still of a decent rating, while remaining a key player for Cagliari in real life, he could be a useful addition.

- Zouhair Feddal, Age-29, Rating- 85, Position- D(LC), DM(C), Value- 2.2m, Joining from- Real Betis- It was announced this moring that Feddal will soon be joining St. Etienne as well, for £4.5m. Another versatile player, he will provide competition for a number of positions, and having a good season for Betis and being linked with premier league clubs in real life, we're hopeful that he could possibly rise sooner rather than later. 

- Nordin Amrabat, Age- 30, Rating-87, Position- M(RL), AM, F(RLC), Value- 3.1m, Joined from- Lazio- Another versatile player, Amrabat will provide competition for a number of positions, and joined as part of the deal that saw Loic Remy joins Lazio. Still of a decent rating, he's not likely to start but should prove to be a useful backup.

- Cristiano Biraghi, Age-25, Rating-87, Position-LB/LM, Value-5m, Joined from-Lazio-Biraghi is an excellent young player, on loan at Fiorentina in real life and somebody we were interested in anyway, who joined as part of the Remy deal. He will be a starter for us, at left back, and there were already a number of other sides interested in his signature as well. He has played 18 times this season for Fiorentina and, having had a rating increase of two just a couple of months ago, is turning into a real quality player. Biraghi's certainly a bit of a coup for us and we're delighted to get him in.

I certainly wouldn't expect this to be the end of any transfer business at St.Etienne. We're still looking to imrpove the squad further, but this has certainly been a succesful window for us so far