New owner of ASSE, Kilmer Sports made the choice of youth during the transfer window. A bet which raises many questions and criticisms after the Greens’ mixed start to the season in Ligue 1.
Back in Ligue 1 this season, Saint-Etienne was very active during the summer transfer window under the leadership of its new owner Kilmer Sports and its president Ivan Gazidis. We cannot blame the new bosses of ASSE for not having been active with nearly 25 million euros invested, a substantial sum for a promoted person. But while observers but also coach Olivier Dall’Oglio were mainly calling for experienced reinforcements for this return to Ligue 1, the American investment fund favored the recruitment of young players (Stassin, Davitashvili, Miladinovic, Boakye, Old) with a view to potential resales.
The first criticism falls on Ivan Gazidis
A strategy which could cost the Greens dearly in the long term according to Laurent Hess, specialist of the Saint-Etienne club for But. “I find it hard to understand how Kilmer works, the absence of Ivan Gazidis on a daily basis. It’s as if Pablo Longoria wasn’t managing OM from Marseille! We didn’t hear it after the rout in Nice, as if there was no pilot on the plane… And this first transfer window of the Kilmer era, I don’t understand it. ASSE made its comeback, it needed reinforcements, executives, sure values of the L1 to supervise the young people. Everyone agreed that. However, 8 of the 9 summer recruits are discovering Ligue 1” regrets the follower of AS Saint-Etienne, for whom the choices made during the summer transfer window raise questions.
It now remains to be seen whether in the long term, they will pay off or not. After a sluggish start to the season, notably marked by the heavy defeat in Nice (8-0), the Greens got things back on track before the international break with a draw in Nantes then a victory against Auxerre. Two positive results which allowed Olivier Dall’Oglio’s team to move up to 13th place in the standings.
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