Pre-season Tournament 2021–22

## July 2021 preview

Yeovil Town accepted an invitation to return to the European International Cup, hosted in Italy this year. Yeovil Town shared a group with **Konyaspor** (*Turkey*), **Chievo Verona** (*Italy*) and **Real Oviedo** (*Spain*).

## Season Welcome From Sascha Krause

"I still can't quite believe that we're actually here, registered as a Premier League team. The journey has so far been wonderful and full of drama, and it's our role now to keep that going and take the Premier League by storm. We're not going to lay down arms and let teams roll over us.

The squad has changed somewhat. We've lost a lot of depth from last season, so we're going to have to acquire some players who can take up those positions in their place. We'll be looking at younger players who can grow with the club and be ready whenever they are called upon.

We've already done some transfer business too! You probably caught the news that Steve Mounié is now a Yeovil Town player. We had this one wrapped up in January, but we agreed to keep the transfer under the radar as Huddersfield were in a relegation scrap and they didn't want the news to unsettle the fans. But a player of Steve's quality is exactly the sort of target we identified as someone who was important for the club to acquire. He's proven at the highest, is in his prime and can be the player to lead the line for us.

There was also a decision to be made with Defence after Omar Sowunmi suffered an injury that would keep him out until the new year. In Reece Oxford, we believe we have found the perfect player for the club. Not only is he still so young at 22, but he talented enough to play in other positions that we need cover for with RB and CDM. I am very excited about this young English talent and I have high expectations of him!

The final signing we've made so far is Lovre Benkovic. We have been watching his development for three years now and I was personally very happy when he agreed to join the club! Again, he is young, which is important to us. 21-years old is the perfect age for a player, in my opinion. But he's a talented right-midfielder who will be an understudy to Osei Yaw. Incredibly two-footed and with bags of flair, he is certainly one to keep an eye on. We broke our transfer record to get him, so you would hope so!

Other than that, we are ready to start the season. We'll see some more movement, no doubt. But the team is shaping up nicely and we're ready to stretch the legs over our pre-season tour in Italy!"

## Group Stage: MD1

**Konyaspor Post-match Interview**

"What an emphatic victory from the reserves! I made it clear to them that they wouldn't start the season as being in contention for the first team, but if they worked hard, there was no reason why they couldn't earn their place.

I think Browne, in particular, took this to heart. We made the choice not to invest in our left wing and instead, move C. Duffus out wide. But it seems he's not happy with that! 2 assists, 1 goal and a MOTM performance was surprising, but I am impressed! Just as I am with L. Benkovic! He looked dangerous on the right and he's going to push Osei Yaw all the way this year. I was impressed with Reece Oxford on his debut too!

I gave Isaac Lewis a start as I promised him. He has spent two seasons out on loan now and he wanted a chance to prove his credentials. I think he had a solid game and took his goal well. I will have to make a decision as to whether he can develop sufficiently here or whether he would be best served with another loan. He still has a lot to learn.

But that was a huge result to throw down the gauntlet that Yeovil Town are ready for the season. Now we just need to keep this up and win the tournament!

## Group Stage: MD2

 S. Mounie | 9'
 S. Mounie | 14'
 S. D'Almeida | 66'

**Chievo Verona Linz Post-match Interview**

"It was a very comfortable performance until the end! I should take the blame really. I wanted to test how R. Clarke would handle this environment, but it was his mistakes that lead to both goals. We kept him last season for his versatility, but he knows that he's not yet at the level he needs to be. So we had already identified that a loan would suit his development this year. But as we are yet to secure our targets, we had to use him today.

Steve Mounie was electric this evening! A brace and an assist. Exactly what we needed! Unfortunately, it's not looking too great for D. Osei Yaw who took a knock. We expect he'll be out for 2 or 3 weeks, so we're sending him back home to recover.

And I can also take this opportunity to let you know about Jake Gray. So he was actually prepared to take a sporadic role with us, as he genuinely loves playing for this club. But we had a chat and we both agreed that he deserved to play a lot more as he enters the peak of his career. So today, he finalised his deal to Newell. He will be missed!"

## Group Stage: MD3

 S. D'Almeida | 5'
 L. Sorensen | 44'
 L. Benkovic | 52'
 Progressed to the Semi-Final

**Real Oviedo Post-match Interview**

"So, I am a touch concerned about our defence. Granted, this was our reserves again. But letting them equalise three times is not something that is going to pass in the Premier League. On the other hand, this is only pre-season. So I'll cut them some slack. I am more pleased that we're finding the back of the net a lot lately. 15 goals in three matches is not something we're quite used to here! For the semi-final, we're going to work on maintaining this form in front of goal, but also our game management. We need to be strong again like in League One at shutting out opposition once we felt good about the result and then play on the break. So watch out for that!"

## Semi-Final

 Eliminated

**Genoa Post-match Interview**

"That was very disappointing and not the way we wanted our pre-season tour to end. Now everyone is a little low on confidence so we got some pep talks to run to get the spirit back! Genoa played very well and probably deserved to progress ahead of us. But we'll find our rhythm again. We're staying out here for a few more days and then we'll be back, preparing for our first game against West Ham!"

## Transfer Window

#### **Transfers In**

* Yeovil Town confirm the signing of 21-year old Croatian RM Lovre Benkovic from **CSKA Moscow** (*Russia*). CSKA Moscow will receive £3,000,000, with Lovre signing a 4-year contract.
* Yeovil Town confirm the signing of 22-year old English CB Reece Oxford from **West Ham** (*England*). West Ham will receive £2,900,000, with Reece signing a 5-year contract.
* Yeovil Town confirm the loan signing of 20-year old Spanish CB Eric Garcia from **Manchester City** (*England*). He arrives on a 6-month contract and will depart the club in January 2022.

#### **Transfers Out**

* Yeovil Town confirm the sale of 23-year old English ST O. Olomola to **Malaga CF** (*Spain*). Yeovil Town will receive £1,900,000.
* Yeovil Town confirm the sale of 26-year old Ugandan CB B. Mugabi to **Banfield** (*Argentina*). Yeovil Town will receive £560,000.
* Yeovil Town confirm the sale of 25-year old English CM Jake Gray to **Newell**(*Argentina*). Yeovil Town will receive £580,000.
* Yeovil Town confirm the sale of 19-year old English CM Sam Hall to **Burton Albion**(*England*). Yeovil Town will receive £410,000.
* Yeovil Town confirm the sale of 18-year old English ST Taylor Murphy to **Racing Club**(*Argentina*). Yeovil Town will receive £6,200,000.
* Yeovil Town confirm the sale of 19-year old English CM Peter Morris to **Akhisarspor**(*Turkey*). Yeovil Town will receive £145,000.
* Yeovil Town confirm the loan transfer of Elliot Carter to **Fenerbahce** (*Turkey)*. He will return in June 2022

#### **Contract News**

* Yeovil Town confirm the arrival of S. Mounie after agreeing to move to the club in January 2021
* Yeovil Town confirm the exit of A. Gafaiti. He departed after signing a pre-contract with another club.
* Yeovil Town confirm the exit of A. Santos. He departed after signing a pre-contract with another club.
* Yeovil Town confirm the exit of S. Downing. He retired at the end of the 2020-21 season.
* Yeovil Town confirm the exit of C. Dickinson. He retired at the end of the 2020-21 season.
* R. Browne extended his contract until **2025**

## YeoLaTengo Monthly Review

Wasn't that a curious tournament! Started out on fire, but progressively got poorer. In this instance, it's not something we should read in too. We lost a number of the core squad members and introduced new players who will need some time to adapt. Let's hope by the time West Ham stroll into town, they'll be ready!

The new signings, however, looked top notch! Mounie slotted right into the team and slotted away two goals before fans could even sit down. Benkovic looked dangerous on the right flank and picked himself up 3 goals. He's definitely going to be one to watch out for this year! And Reece Oxford looked calm and commanding for most of his minutes on the pitch next to Degerlund!

But we can't overlook all of the sales. From the end of last season, the club lost 6 players with more since having departed. It's not that they were first team quality, but key figures to the team and helped create the environment. It's one thing moving them on for the betterment of their careers, but with so much change happening in such a small period of time, I think it can be alarming. If results begin poorly, then suddenly their is a struggle to generate positive momentum. So the win against West Ham, especially after pre-season, is vital for the club.

**Expected First XI for the season:**

**GK**: B. Foster

**RB**: T. James

**CB**: O. Sowunmi

**CB**: M. Degerlund

**LB**: A. Bell

**DM**: L. Sorensen

**CM**: S. D'Almeida

**CM**: M. Reuvers

**LW**: C. Duffus

**ST**: S. Mounie

**RW**: D. Osei Yaw