No Puertas, no Amoura and no Nilsson: How Union St Gilloise’s summer transfer business has seen the goals dry up for former West Brom and Brighton defender turned head coach | OneFootball

Last season, Union St Gilloise were challenging for the title, and they were doing it in style. They may have missed out despite leading the league for most of the season, but at least they did go home with the domestic cup. The Brussels club were averaging two goals per game, the third best in the Pro League. Fast forward a few months, and after 10 games to start the current Pro League season they are all the way down in 11th with just 1.1 goals per match. The club have only scored in five matches this season.

Clearly, the players that departed in the summer have had a huge impact. Cameron Puertas led the league with assists, while Gustaff Nilsson scored 16 league goals for the side. He has since joined rivals Club Brugge, where he has struggled to have as big of an impact as he did for Union, with three goals in 11 games. His strike partner has also departed. Mohamed Amoura has joined Wolfsburg on loan with a purchase option. The Algerian scored 18 goals in the league last season.

In their place have come Franjo Ivanovic, Mohammed Fuseini and Promise Akinpelu. Kevin Rodriguez and Elton Kabangu are the only forwards from last season still at the club. Ivanovic has shown glimpses of what he can do. His goal against Club Brugge was extremely well taken. Last season he scored 12 goals in 41 games for Rijeka and already had four in 10 when he moved to Brussels this season. Fuseini has scored three since joining from Sturm Graz. Last season he scored nine goals in 16 games while on loan at Danish side Randers FC.

Perhaps, in time, Fuseini and Ivanovic can be the goal scorers the side needs. But without a Puertas, the chances are not coming as often as they did last time out. Or are they? The side have an xG of 17, the fifth best in the league. They, alongside Charleroi, are clearly not taking their chances, with Union on 11 goals and Charleroi on 12. Alessio Castro-Montes has three assists this season, with no one else in the club having more than one.

This is clearly a dilemma for new head coach Sebastian Pocognoli. He certainly has a slightly less talented squad at his disposal given the departures in the summer. However, Union’s success in past seasons also puts pressure on him to bring success. This does not have to be challenging for the title, but a top six finish and European football are starting to become regular occurrences. With 10 gone, the club are in 10th place, only a point behind Club Brugge.

As time goes on, and the team begins to gel, we may well see a resurgent Union back to the levels we have seen in the past few seasons. In order for that to happen, they need to get back to finding the back of the net regularly.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson