The 20/21 Eredivisie season begins this Friday and we will preview the expectations of each Eredivisie club. In this article, we look at Heracles Almelo.

Frank Warmouth has done a great job in charge of Heracles since his appointment in 2018, and the club were in 8th spot and close to a European playoff spot before the season was ended.

The goals of Cyriel Dessers and the creativity of Mauro Junior were a big part of Heracles success last season, but with both now gone, can the club maintain their place in the top half?

Transfers

Dessers scored 18 goals for Heracles last season but has now departed, leaving a big hole up front for the club to fill. Mauro Junior was also crucial with his assists but he has returned to PSV.

The club has had a major clearout this summer with Joey Konings, Reuven Neimeijer, Maximillian Rossman, Dabney Dos Santos, Jesper Drost, and Mohammed Osman among the players leaving.

So far only six players have been brought into the club, including Rai Vloet, and Delano Burgzorg, who played for the club on loan last season. Luca de la Torre has signed from Fulham, Noah Fadiga from Club Brugge and Marco Rente from Borussia Dortmund.

The job of replacing Cyriel Dessers has fallen on the shoulders of Sinan Bakis, who has joined from Austrian side Admira Wacker.

Head Coach

Frank Wormuth was appointed Heracles boss in 2018 and has done an excellent job with the club since, and has guided the club to 7th and 8th.

The German’s attacking style and tactics has worked wonders with Heracles but this could be the coaches toughest test yet with the squad being overhauled.

Key Player

With Dessers departing, the job of replacing him goes to Sinan Bakis, with the 26-year-old Turkish forward joining from Admira Wacker. The striker’s goal record in Austria wasn’t great so he will need to step it up if he is to shine in the Eredivisie.

At the back, Janis Blaswich is an excellent goalkeeper and he will be key to getting victories this season again.

Young Players to Watch

Tricky winger Delano Bugzorg (20) was impressive on loan last season and has now made his move from Spezia permanent. He adds unpredictability and pace to the Heracles attack.

American midfielder Luca de la Torre (22) comes in from Fulham looking to make an impact in the Eredivisie and could add some creativity that was lost with Mauro Junior leaving.

Pre-Season

Heracles got off to a slow start with 1-0 defeats to Groningen and PEC Zwolle. However, they have since defeated Go Ahead Eagles (2-0), Emmen (2-0), Telstar (4-0), and Jong Utrecht (4-0). They also drew 1-1 with German side MSV Duisberg. Their final pre-season tie was a 2-1 loss to Eintracht Braunschweig.

Strongest line-up

Blaswich, Breukers, Hardeveld, Propper, Rente, Bijleveld, Vloet, Kiomourtzoglou, Burgzorg, Van der Water, Bakis

Predicted finish

Losing Dessers is a big blow for Heracles and the squad is not looking as strong as it was last season. There are big concerns that Bakis is not good enough to replace Dessers so goals could be a big issue.

Wormuth has done really well to guide Heracles to two top-nine finishes but this season could be a struggle for the club and they could fall outside the top half. A relegation battle is not on the cards, but mid-table could be the best they can hope for.




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