Promising youngsters and a transfer window of nearly 82 million euros, a record in Ligue 1: Strasbourg's ambitious summer

Marc Keller, the generous and considerate president, did not forget the anniversary. He gave Liam Rosenior a chance to celebrate his first birthday at Racing Club de Strasbourg with a smile, bringing him two new players: Mike Penders , a goalkeeper he missed so much, and Joaquin Panichelli , an equally important central striker who arrived from Alavés for 16.5 million euros.

These two gifts herald a bright future. Something that the aging Swedish goalkeeper Karl-Johan Johnsson (35 years old, 9 caps) no longer truly embodies. He reiterated this during the second of five summer preparation matches, at Galatasaray on Saturday (1-3), while Strasbourg will play again against Udinese on Wednesday, then the Germans of Mainz and Heidenheim, on Saturday and August 8.

The complete opposite of Penders (20 years old, this July 31). Chelsea invested €20 million in this "Devil", before leaving him on loan at Genk last year. Two weeks after taking his place on the Blues' bench during the Club World Cup final won against Paris-SG (3-0, on July 13), Penders is therefore leaving on loan. "In my eyes, Mike is one of the most promising young goalkeepers in the world ," Rosenior rejoiced in the columns of Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace (DNA), Monday. He can follow the same path as Djordje Petrovic given his qualities and his potential." Arriving on the tip of the gloves a year ago, already on loan from Chelsea, the Serbian (25 years old, 7 caps) was voted best player of the season by Racing supporters, before being sold for nearly €29 million to Bournemouth, on July 16.

Since BlueCo, a consortium of American investors that already owns Chelsea, bought Strasbourg on June 22, 2023, the timeshare agreement has been operating at full capacity, between London and Alsace. In both directions, since after eighteen months on loan, Brazilian international midfielder Andrey Santos (21 years old, 2 caps) returned to Chelsea, to whom Racing sold Mamadou Sarr for €14 million (excluding bonuses). The central defender is expected to return to Strasbourg this season, with only the loan remaining to be formalized. The same goes for Ecuadorian attacking midfielder or right winger Kendry Paez (18 years old, 18 caps), whom Chelsea just bought for €10 million from Independiente del Valle. At the same time, the Blues acquired midfielder Mathis Amougou (19 years old), a Saint-Etienne academy graduate, from the Blues.

Being under the American flag not only allows RCSA to tap into the world champion club's bloated squad. At a time when its Ligue 1 rivals are suffering from the drying up of TV rights, it also provides it with powerful financial resources. Racing has emerged as the biggest player in this French summer market (already 37 player movements). It also helps it cover a €24 million transfer deficit, having sold for €50 million and bought for nearly €82 million, a club record.

His latest acquisition is called Panichelli. "He's a very high-level prospect, courted by more upmarket clubs, " the English coach explained to DNA . "But he chose Strasbourg because he considers it the best choice in his career plan." The arrival of the Argentinian (22 years old, 20 goals in the Spanish D2 last season) will allow Racing to free itself from its "Emegha dependency" and broaden its tactical palette. Rosenior no longer rules out playing more often with two strikers. After starting in a 3-5-2 formation, - with Dilane Bakwa and Emanuel Emegha in the center at Montpellier (1-1, August 18, 2024) - he only used two central strikers on five other occasions, in 37 matches, last season. He favored a 3-4-2-1 formation.

The depth of its new squad, which was further strengthened yesterday with the addition of Chelsea's English defender Ishé Samuels-Smith (19 years old), sold for €7.5 million by Chelsea , will therefore help Racing to surprise its opponents even more and, if necessary, to concede the Ligue 1-Conference League tie (it will play the play-offs against an opponent yet to be determined, on August 21 and 28). With two other unknowns however: it risks losing more players, such as its central defender Ismaël Doukouré (22 years old, under contract until 2026) and/or its striker Bakwa (22 years old, 2027). In addition, the nine new arrivals are between 18 and 23 years old. They will therefore have to continue to develop while showing performance from the outset.