Before the resumption of the Ligue 2 championship on August 1 against Paris FC, FC Sochaux-Montbéliard has not been idle on the transfer market: the Doubiste club has already recruited nine players since the start of the transfer window. Who are they ? Where do they come from ? Introducing new faces.
La marseillaise à pétanque 2022, 61st edition of the world –
Midfielder, 1.77m for 71kg
First FCSM recruit this summer, the 25-year-old midfielder arrives free from FC Nantes, where he still played 17 Ligue 1 matches last season and won the Coupe de France. Trained at Paris Saint-Germain, he will have the heavy task of numerically replacing Ousseynou Thioune, who was not retained by the Sochaux staff at the end of the season.
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Experienced, rather versatile, Periera de Sa has Ligue 1 experience but wanted to return to Ligue 2 – a championship he knows well having already played there under the colors of Paris FC in 2016 – with the aim of being an indisputable owner.
Often injured, shunned by Christian Gourcuff then Raymond Domenech, he took his chance with the Canaries under the leadership of Antoine Kombouaré. Left-handed by training, this Franco-Congolese could be the pleasant surprise of the Sochaux transfer window even if the competition with Mauricio and Weissbeck will be tough in the Sochaux midfield.
Left side, 1.73 m for 71 kg
He should bring very serious competition to Abdallah Ndour as left-back. Yoël Armougom, 24, has signed up with Sochaux for three years. He will continue his career in a championship he knows well since he played until then under the colors of SM Caen, a club with which he played 109 matches.
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Regularly hampered by injuries, the training defender played only 20 matches in Ligue 2 last season. In the eyes of Caennais supporters, he is often presented as a hope who has never managed to convince. He had one year left on his contract in Normandy but wanted to give new impetus to his career by choosing the FCSM. He showed himself rather in legs during the friendly match of Sochaux against Bourg-en-Bresse this Tuesday, July 12. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to become a potential starter.
Central defender, 1.87m for 85kg
He is the youngest recruit of the FCSM this summer. Trained at Le Havre AC, Daylam Meddah, 19, has hardly ever played in Ligue 2. Recruited by SCO Angers last season, he played 13 matches with the reserve in National 2 and was called up three times. by Gérald Baticle in the Ligue 1 group.
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Versatile, Meddah is able to evolve in defense and in midfield. He has signed up with FC Sochaux for the next three seasons where he really hopes to launch his professional career.
Central defender, 1.94m for 85kg
You could almost call it the Nigerian giant. With his 1.94m, Valentine Ozornwafor should bring a lot of athletic power to the Sochaux defense. Arrived on loan from Sporting Charleroi (Belgium), he notably passed through Turkey (Galatasaray), and Spain (Almeria) before landing in Sochaux.
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Last season, he played 17 Belgian D1 matches, including 16 as a starter. The Charleroi club, convinced by his performance, has also exercised the option to buy the Turkish club to recruit him, before sending him on loan to the Doubs. Valentine Ozornwafor has two selections with Nigeria.
Left winger, 1.73m for 68kg
He too will strengthen the attacking sector of FC Sochaux-Montbéliard this season. At the end of his contract with Stade de Reims, Moussa Doumbia has signed up with the yellow and blue for the next three seasons.
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The 27-year-old left winger spent 4 years in Ligue 1: he played 89 matches and scored 6 goals with the red and white. Malian international since 2014 (37 caps), he even played four Champions League matches when he played in the Russian championship, under the colors of FK Rostov.
A quick and hard-hitting winger, Moussa Doumbia already scored a goal in FCSM’s friendly victory over UNFP (3-1). Last season he played very little in Ligue 1 (4 matches) and came to Sochaux to relaunch his career.
Forward, 1.91 m for 89 kg
It is perhaps the player who arouses the most expectation, the most hope of this transfer window. Sochaux had been looking for a striker for a long time, and the club set its sights on the former center forward of Chamois Niortais (25 goals in 49 Ligue 2 BKT matches).
Seriously injured during the 2020-21 season, the former FC Lorient player scored 10 goals this season and largely contributed to the maintenance of the club coached by Sébastien Desabre, a time mentioned to take over from Omar Daf.
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Coveted by Ligue 1 clubs (Amngers, Montpellier), the 26-year-old striker was free of any contract but preferred to secure playing time by staying in Ligue 2. He signed up with FCSM for 4 year. In attack, he could be associated with Aldo Kalulu. His arrival seemed essential after the departures of Steve Ambri and Yann Kitala.
Central defender, 1.91 m for 75 kg
International Moroccan U23, Saad Agouzoul has signed up with FCSM for the next three seasons from LOSC, where he mainly played with the reserve team.
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Arriving free at Sochaux after terminating his contract with the northern club, the 24-year-old central defender remains on a difficult season. He had however shone in Belgian D2 two years ago under the colors of Mouscron, where he was on loan. Numerically, he will replace defender Florentin Pogba, transferred to the Indian championship. He has never played in Ligue 2 and could be associated with Ismael Aaneba in central defense.
Midfielder: 1.90 m for 82 kg
He is the oldest recruit but also the most experienced in the Sochaux transfer window. At 33, the Franco-Malian midfielder will know the twelfth club of his career in Sochaux, after passing through Monaco, Bastia, Guingamp and Amiens, among others. He has signed up with the FCSM for the next two seasons.
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A Malian international since 2008, he has 32 caps for five goals scored with the Eagles, a selection with which he notably played in three African Cups of Nations. Big brother of Mustapha Yatabaré (Sivasspor), Sambou arrived at Sochaux free, from Valenciennes, after a complicated season in Ligue 2 (26 matches played, 3 goals scored).
In the Doubs, he will try to relaunch his career and gain playing time with his former coach Olivier Guégan. But the competition in the midfield promises to be tough with the arrivals of Franck Kanouté and Roli Pereira de Sa.
Midfielder, 1.86m for 78kg
He is the ninth and latest recruit to the Sochaux transfer window. Franck Kanoué, 23, arrives on loan with option to buy from Cercle Bruges (Belgian D1). Senegalese international (2 selections), this great central midfielder played a lot in Italy: he also played for Juventus as a junior before signing for Pescara, then Ascoli in Series B.
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In Belgium, after a rather successful debut which notably earned him being called up for the first time in the national team, his career ran out of steam. Injured twice last season, he only played 15 Jupiler Pro League matches in the second half of the season.
At Sochaux, he arrives in a very dense playing sector and will have to do with competition from Roli Pereira de Sa to take over from Ousseynou Thioune.
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