Monaco nearly full-strength as Salisu returns for Strasbourg trip

Monaco head to Strasbourg with a much more comfortable situation than usual. As L’Équipe reports, because the club failed to move a few players on, it arrives with an almost complete squad and, crucially, enough quality to compete on the pitch.

A squad with real competition

The big positive is that Luis Filipe has options. The coach said on Friday: “It’s a pleasant puzzle.” He added that he is satisfied with the group and happy that “Golo” stayed. He also acknowledged the upside-and-downside of having many attacking-minded players: the team is deep, and some players have to stay on the bench, so the competition for places remains open.

L’Équipe also points out that Lamine Camara, Folarin Balogun, Pape Cabral and Alexandre Golovine have not found a new club, which may be frustrating for Monaco’s finances, but it’s not a problem for the training ground.

Salisu back, some knocks linger

The return of Mohammed Salisu is a major boost. He had suffered a serious knee injury in early January, with a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligaments, and is now back in the group.

However, there are still issues: Jordan Teze and Mamadou Coulibaly came back from Paris (2-1 on September 4) with discomfort in the quadriceps. Also, Folarin Balogun and Ansu Fati are still not ready. Still, the biggest question for the starting XI is the right-sided exterieur role—Luis Filipe must choose between Matthis Abline, Mathys Detourbet, and Anis Soubeir for the match on Saturday at 17:15 (L’Équipe).