Le @SMCaen est fier de vous annoncer l'arrivée de Jean-Marc Furlan #SMCaen #TeamSMC

— Stade Malherbe Caen (@SMCaen) June 14, 2023

Caen were in the market for a head coach after the resignation of Stéphane Moulin. Furlan was reportedly in talks with Paris FC and Angers before agreeing to take over Les Malherbistes, and has a reputation for being a expert when it comes to bringing a Ligue 2 team into Ligue 1, and has done so five times already: with Troyes (2005, 2012, 2015), Brest (2019) and Auxerre (2022). Caen will hope that the former centre-back can pull off a sixth promotion to the top flight.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

According to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, the Portuguese giants have already made a first offer to the Normandy club, with other teams showing interest. He was already reported to be keen on a departure in January, with Stade Rennais leading the race. Porto seemingly would want to loan the forward straight out to another club in order to help him gain experience, before integrating him to the first team the following season.

This season, Bassette moved up from the Under 19s into the Caen first team, playing 22 games this year, including 12 games in Ligue 2. He also made his first appearance for the Belgian Red Devils’ Under 19s back in September, scoring his first goal in that category in March against Italy.

Tall, strong and very mobile, Bassette scored 5 goals in 5 Coupe Gambardella games in the previous season, the team eventually losing to Olympique Lyonnais. While impressing throughout that season and being one of the most dangerous players in that very final, he unfortunately missed his team’s 6^th penalty, before Gwendal Degorce gave the Gones the victory.

GFFN | Tom Abadie

Speaking to Ouest-France, Moulin said his departure was mostly down to a strained working relationship with club president Olivier Pickeu. The latter was Angers’ Sporting director when Moulin was at the helm. “Today, I don’t feel like continuing in these conditions, because the situation is not in line with what I imagine for the future, what I need, and what we went through in the past.”

It has been a very difficult season for Moulin on a personal level too. The Caen manager mourned the passing of his wife at the turn of the year. Moulin said to Ouest-France that he intends to return to Angers, but he does not expect to coach a team next season. The outlet and L’Équipe report that former Troyes manager Bruno Irles is the early favourite to takeover Caen next season.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Strasbourg have been interested in the player for the past two years. Finally, their interest will manifest itself in a transfer. Deminguet’s contract with Ligue 2 side Caen will expire this summer, and as previously reported by Ouest France, the player will now join on a free upon the expiry of the contract.

According to L’Équipe, the Frenchman will sign a contract until 2017. Last season, Deminguet scored six goals and made nine assists in 33 Ligue 2 matches. This season, the former France U20 international, whose last contract with Caen was signed back in 2019, has featured less frequently, scoring once and registering two assists in 11 appearances in all competitions. Strasbourg are currently embroiled in a fight to remain in France’s top flight, and it is therefore unclear currently whether Deminguet will be competing in Ligue 1 next season. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Several Ligue 2 clubs have shown an interest in loaning the 2019-2020 Ligue 2 season’s second-best goalscorer with Clermont. The following season, Lorient purchased Grbić for €9m on a five-year deal, but the Austrian never made his mark with the Brittany outfit. He was loaned out to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, for which he scored only one goal in 22 games, one year ago before returning to Lorient last summer. Caen were in talks with Grbić and the player even traveled to Normandy to seal his loan, but the Austrian international wanted guarantees regarding his game time, something that was not to the liking of Caen’s hierarchy.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Sylla is out of contract with the Eredivisie outfit next summer and has been short of game time with Utrecht. He has only played ten games this season, the last of which was in October. The younger brother of former Aston Villa man Yacouba Sylla is expected to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Normandy side, currently eighth-placed in Ligue 2 standings. The former AS Monaco youth product, who signed professionally and played Champions League football with Les Monégasques, has already undergone his medical with his new club.

The imminent signing of Sylla might mean that Caen have pulled the plug on a move for Lorient’s out-of-favour forward Adrian Grbic (26). Ouest-France reports that the Austrian is asking for guarantees regarding his game time, an attitude that may not be to the liking of Caen’s hierarchy.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

The Yonne outfit may be forced to dip in the market for a midfielder after newly-signed Ghanaian international defensive midfielder Elisha Owusu (25) suffered a serious injury in training yesterday. Owusu was reportedly in excruciating pain and had to be carried off the training pitch by his teammates. Auxerre are sweating over the extent of his injury because a season-ending Achilles tear is suspected, according to France Bleu. The former Gent player will undergo medical tests this Monday.

With only two days left in the January transfer window, time is running out for the relegation-battling outfit to find a suitable replacement. Ouest-France report that the Auxerre’s hierarchy have made contact with Caen, now in Ligue 2, over the signing of Deminguet but the player is being courted by several Ligue 1 outfits. He has already informed the Normandy club he won’t extend his contract that is due to expire this summer.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Several Ligue 2 clubs have shown interest for the loan of 2019-2020 Ligue 2 season’s second-best goalscorer with Clermont. The following season, Lorient purchased Grbić for €9m on a five-year deal, but the Austrian never made his mark with the Brittany outfit. He was loaned out to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, for which he scored only one goal in 22 games, one year ago before returning to Lorient last summer. Caen look set to give him another shot at finding his groove back. The Stéphane Moulin-led side is seventh-placed in Ligue 2, with only a five point deficit on second-placed Bordeaux.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Bassette is getting frustrated by his lack of game time this season. The young Belgian striker excelled in the Coupe Gambardella last season, scoring seven goals in five matches, whilst this season, he has eight goals in 10 matches for the U19 side. However, manager Stéphane Moulin still hasn’t been convinced to play the player. He therefore has only four appearances in Ligue 2 this season, amassing just 30 minutes in France’s second division. 

Bassette is considered as a fourth-choice striker, behind Alexandre Mendy, Benjamin Jeannot and Samuel Essende. A departure is therefore expected, and Parma are set to soon communicate an offer for the Belgian. If Bassette is to depart this winter, the player prvileges a move to another French team, or back to his native Belgium. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Their manager, Ivan Jurić, has made Torino’s position in this transfer window clear: the Granata need a midfielder, possibly a left-sided one. Both Ilić and Makengo appear to be their top targets, though a move for Makengo may become more feasible if negotiations for Ilić continue to stall.

Ilić was temporarily sidelined this season due to a muscle injury, and has played just over half of the team’s Serie A games this season. I Gialloblu sit 18th in the Italian top flight, flirting with relegation as the season approaches its halfway point. Makengo’s form is perhaps more consistent, having played 15 of Udinese’s 18 league games this season. They sit at a more comfortable seventh place, just outside of the European qualification spots. Previously, Makengo played in France, at SM Caen, OGC Nice, and Toulouse F.C. 

GFFN | Brendan Cox