Laval’s season was undoubtedly the worst since they played at this level and Sébastien Cartier readily admits: “We’re coming out of a season where we didn’t necessarily have a lot of fun even when we won. » To avoid repeating such a mishap and regain the top of the table, the Laval squad will be largely renewed. Exit Larousse, Conway, Huger, Noba, Nsimba, Roydor, Tonye-Biyik, Houdayer-Hutin, only Gelu, Foucher, Perazza and Benon remain. To complete this quartet, the Laval coach intends to recruit experienced and competitive players. It’s off to a good start with the first two recruits presented by the club.
First of all, Antoine Belkessa who arrives from Fougères after a blank season. “We know Antoine well having faced him several times with Fougères. He was a player who caused us some problems when he was in the opposing camp. I hope he causes problems for the others now that he is with us,” justifies Cartier. At 36, the leader intends to show that he is not a finished player despite his injury: “After a year without playing, I was starting to miss the field. I’m physically ready, I train regularly.”
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The other recruit is an interior player who arrives from Vitré where he played 36 minutes on average per match this season for 5.8 pts. “For Romain Grégoire, it happened quite quickly. He wanted to stay in the region and we were looking for an experienced inside player. He has a fairly long career in the NM1 division, he will discover the NM2,” explains the Laval technician. The interior, who will be 33 years old, adheres to Cartier’s speech: “We got on well with Sébastien, the project he presented to me was really nice so that happened quickly. I’m quite versatile in the interior positions. I’ve spent my entire career in NM1, I hope to be able to bring this experience to the club and to my teammates.” Laval recruitment is not over: “We are still looking for another interior player and we have two options on positions 3-4 for a group of 9 players next season. »
The workforce
They leave: Noba, Nsimba, Huger, Roydor, Larousse, Tonye-Biyik.
They arrest: Houdayer-Hutin, Roydor.
They remain: Foucher, Gelu, Perazza, Benon.
They arrive: Belkessa, Grégoire.
Resumption of training on August 1st.
Friendly matches : August 9 in Vitré (7 p.m.), August 16 in Laval against Fougères (7 p.m.), August 17 in Laval against Rennes (7 p.m.), August 24 in Neuvy against Brissac (8:30 p.m.), August 25 in Laval against Pornic (5 p.m.), August 31 in Saint Laurent la Plaine against Niort (8 p.m.) and September 7 in Saint-Dolay against Pornic (8 p.m.). The championship resumes on September 14.
