September 28, 2020 at 9:45 p.m. by Thomas
Even more so with Claude Puel at the club, training is at the heart of AS Saint-Etienne’s sporting and economic project.
William Saliba previous seasons, Wesley Fofana this 2020-21 fiscal year are the two best examples ASSE’s know-how in the training sector. The former definitely left for Arsenal, the other pushes to join him in the English Premier League. For some future promises, Saint-Etienne must necessarily bow down and accept their departure. It is also a goal in itself to train and sell players, for a significant return on the initial investment.
€ 8 million for the 4th best French football training center
For the youth it nurses, ASSE has invested nearly 8 million euros this season, according to a figure given by the newspaper The team. Or a little less than a tenth of the budget devoted to the group of professional players. This is what it takes to aim to have a successful training center, like that of the club, ranked fourth in 2020, behind Paris, Lyon and Rennes.
Confidence is given to young people among the ASSA pros
In Saint-Etienne, young people are an integral part of the project and we have the confidence of the manager, Claude Puel. Trained at the club (Abi, Nordin, Moueffek…), or not. According to the Football Observatory, last season the U21s played 24.6% of the club’s total playing time in Ligue 1. Only Lille (32.1%) and Nice (30.8 %) that the ratio is stronger. Transfermarkt gives the Saint-Etienne squad average of 25.2, but the players the coach relies on are younger: against Rennes, his starting XI was just 24, on average. According to The team, 48 players trained with the Greens have played in Ligue 1 over the past ten seasons.