After many years of tradinga strategy which consists of recruiting or betting on young players with potential with the aim of (re)selling them much more expensively in the short or medium term, Amiens SC could well take “an important turn” during this offseason. Explanations.
A degraded economic situation
Despite the numerous sales made in recent months, Amiens SC having recovered nearly 20 million euros on the transfer market in a year and a half, the structural deficit of the Picard club is more or less 10 million euros per year. The fault lies with a model established in Ligue 1, that of trading, which has regularly shown its limits for several seasons. With a few exceptions (Mendy, Tolu), John Williams no longer manages to sniff out good moves and even accumulates very average players with fairly substantial emoluments (Barry, Diakhaby, Bandé, Tapsoba, Ciss…).
Thus, Amiens SC has gradually become “slave” to a recruitment policy which has constantly increased its payroll or even overflowed a locker room that has become impossible for any coach to control, with an average of around thirty players available. All in an increasingly alarming economic context for French football, which has still not found a broadcaster for next season – while many clubs survive thanks to TV rights.
Amiens SC ready to change paradigm?
Faced with this reality, Bernard Joannin decided to whistle the end of the reaction. Last spring, the president of Amiens SC presented a vast spending reduction plan affecting all levels of the club, from training to the first team. A time weakened, John Williams was finally confirmed in his functions with a main mission: to drastically reduce the payroll of the first team by managing in particular to sell the players who are not giving satisfaction in Picardy.
An action plan which began with the non-renewal of most players at the end of their contracts, like Nicholas Opoku, Jérémy Gélin, Jack Lahne or Maxime Do Couto, i.e. certain heavy investments not having necessarily gave satisfaction. A way out is sought for certain undesirables, starting with Abdourahmane Barry – in open conflict with the club for almost a year and whose salary turns out to be substantial. For the rest, no one is untransferable, including Gaël Kakuta who was supposed to embody a return of ambitions during his umpteenth come-back in October 2022.
Training, the salvation of Amiens SC?
Eager to reduce its professional group to around twenty players, Amiens SC will have to show inspiration on the transfer market, all with fairly limited financial resources. Clubs like Pau, Rodez, Laval and even Annecy have shown that this is not an impossible mission, by sniffing out good moves in the National or Ligue 2, or even by being loaned players with potential from the League. 1. Above all by being proactive, by not waiting until the last minute to take action. In this sense, the Laval case was undoubtedly the most glaring last season. For a very long time, the Mayenne club took advantage of its head start, with a group put together very quickly during the off-season.
This group will be an airlock, made up of quality young players, which will serve as a link between the Training Center and the professional group.
Patrice Descamps, director of the Amiens SC training center.
At the same time, Amiens intends to focus even more on its training center, which has just won the first national title in the club’s history. As revealed by the 11th, this materialized by the creation of a Pro 2 group. « This group will be an airlock, made up of quality young players, which will serve as a link between the Training Center and the professional group, precise Patrice Descampsthe director of the training center. The idea is to provide the Club with a reservoir from which the coach of the first team, Omar Daf, will be able to draw. The players will continue to give their all, continue to prove and continue to progress on a daily basis before joining the professional group. »
Made up of around twenty players, this group will be mainly composed of players trained at the club. It could also be the ideal gateway to recruit players who perform at an intermediate level (National, National 2, etc.) and who may still need a step before joining a professional group full-time. A strategy which has already proven itself in Reims or Monaco, with players who perhaps matured later such as Yehvann Diouf, Hugo Ekitité and Boulaye Dia within the Champagne club or even Maghnes Akliouche for the Rocher club.
Amiens SC is looking for the right balance
« Today, the Club is in an important turning point. The President of Amiens SC, Bernard Joannin, spoke recently. He has renewed his confidence in the Training Center and is counting on it to approach this shift with as much serenity as possible.“, affirms Patrice Descamps. Last year, the training center notably played its role financially by bringing in between 8 and 10 million euros on the early transfers of George Ilenikhena (Antwerp) and Kassoum Ouattara (Monaco). The challenge now is to know if the good results among young people can be transposed to the highest level.
Bernard Joannin was clear: it is a new economic model that must be created.
Patrice Descamps, director of the Amiens SC training center.
« The Club project must be guided by the word “BALANCE”. Balance of young players from the Training Center, balance of mature, experienced and charismatic players to supervise them and help them progress and finally balance of players likely to bring financial added value to the Club, believes Patrice Descamps. Today, the President, Bernard Joannin, was clear: it is a new economic model that must be created. We have a large pool of excellent young players and the Training Center will have its place. We become an important building block of the ASC house. » As for whether the path taken by ASC is the right one, time will tell us.
Romain PECHON
Photo credits: Christophe Saidi/FEP/Icon Sport
