From Spain to France and a first pre-season outing at Portman Road as Le Havre come to Town. The French side, who are now going into their fourth season in Ligue 1, finished 14th last season, three points clear of the relegation play-offs.

So far in pre-season they have lost to Amiens, beaten Red Star and drawn with Laval.

They are managed by Didier Digard, a former defensive midfielder who had a spell with Middlesbrough between 2008 and 2011. The majority of his managerial career has been spent at OGC Nice, initially as U17s manager before stepping up to take over the reserves in 2021 and then becoming interim-manager in 2023. He finished that season with a 48% win record and was unlucky not to get the job permanently with Francisco Farioli chosen instead.

His spell in the top job started in July 2024, replacing Luke Elsner who had moved on the Reims having kept the club in Ligue 1 following promotion the previous season.

He had the task that Gary O'Neil now has for Ipswich Town of replacing a successful manager and 15th and 14th-place finishes have followed with a relatively young squad.

Digard and O'Neil have faced each other recently with Digard coming out on top in a 2-1 victory against O'Neil's Strasbourg side.

When it comes to Digard’s tactics it’s safe to say he enjoys tinkering. He used six different formations over the course of last season, with 4-3-3 just about coming out on top with eight uses.

Starting in goal, Le Havre have two World Cup starting goalkeepers. Mory Diaw was Senegal's number one and began 30 matches, keeping seven clean sheets, last season.

He kept out Lionel Mpasi Nzau, who was DR Congo's first choice during the World Cup and had the game of his life against England in the last 32 with five saves, denying the likes of Jade Bellingham and Harry Kane.

Two of their main defenders from last season have been released with Loic Négo joining Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus and Gautier Lloris, the younger brother of Hugo Lloris also released and attracting interest from the MLS. This means that a defensive overhaul will be required this summer.

That leaves two from the above graphic who are still at the club. Starting with Ayumu Seko, a Japanese international who isn't the tallest. He's tidy on the ball with a pass completion of 83% and was the more advanced of the two defenders and the one who would jump into midfield and look to win the ball back where he could.

Then you have Yanis Zouaoui at left-back. His season was cut short with a calf injury, but he has been spotted back training with the club in pre-season. That will be a big boost to the French side as he was their main set piece-taker, whipping in a staggering 8.81 crosses per game, the fourth highest in the league, but also wasn't shy of a tackle with excellent ball-winning numbers. He's essentially Leif Davis if he was French and had the aggression of a Wolverine.

Fodé Doucouré was last season's back-up right-back. He made 15 starts and did manage three goals as he was pushed further forward onto the right wing later on in the season. The Mali international is always looking to play forward when he gets the ball and hates a backward pass if he can avoid it.

At the time of writing, two new defenders have been added to the squad. Experienced centre-back Vincent Sasso joins on a free from Ligue 2 side USL Dunkerque whilst Timothy Pembele, who has spent the last two seasons on loan from Sunderland, finally makes a permanent move back across the channel having initially joined the Black Cats from PSG.

Onto the midfield and more gaps spring up here. First-choice defensive midfielder Lucas Gourna-Douath was on loan from Red Bull Salzburg but ahead of him Rassoul Ndiaye and Simon Ebonog are looking likely to form the spearhead of an attacking midfield.

Ndiaye's talents combine combative ball-winning and an eye for a pass into the final third, whilst Ebonog is also a good ball-winner but will look to keep things simple when he's on the ball.

There are three U21 talents in the squad who could also get minutes this pre-season. Daren Mosengo made seven appearances off the bench last season and Ismael Bouneb spent it on loan in Ligue 3 with Quevilly-Rouen Métropole. Realistically, if you're Digard, I'm not sure you'd be relying on either to be an important part of your squad going into next season.

The one who could make the breakthrough is 19-year-old Ivorian Guy-Noël Zohouri. The academy at Le Havre has produced talents like Paul Pogba, Riyah Mahrez and Ferland Mendy and Zohouri caught the attention of AC Milan a couple of years ago, so he's definitely one to mark on your programme and keep an eye on if he plays.

Moroccan Amir Richardson returns on loan, this time from Fiorentina, having previously been on loan at the club in 2021 with Stade Reims his permanent home at that time.

Twenty-three-year-old Frenchman Junior Mwanga joins from O'Neil's former club Strasbourg but will come with fitness issues having struggled with injury at the tail end of last season.

At the top of the pitch there are also recruitment problems, eight-goal man Issa Soumaré has left to join Stade Rennais, whilst former Southampton forward Sofiane Boufal was only on a short-term contract.

That leaves veteran Tanzanian striker Ally Sammatta, who only found the back of the net twice last season, and Swiss striker Felix Mambimbi, who has some good physical attributes that make him good at pressing from the front but only managed the one goal last season.

Godson Kyeremeh played 13 games on the right side of attack, but only three were from the start, which at the age of 26 firmly implies he's not likely to be first choice either.

That leaves us with Le Havre's first summer signing Kaito Mizuta, who has joined from RW Essen. He hit 20 goal involvements last season (nine goals and 11 assists), but you need to caveat that with the fact that that was in the 3.Liga (The German equivalent of League One). It's a big ask for him to make that jump up the leagues but the French league might be a good stepping stone to allow his technical abilities to shine.

Le Havre have also moved to add his Japanese compatriot Sota Nakamura to the squad to form a new look attack. Nakumura hit five goals in 16 appearances for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J-League.

There could be a familiar face up front with Josh Maja heading back to France after a spell at West Bromwich Albion. He struggled with injuries on his Championship return but when he stays fit can be a real handful for defenders.

Part of his role will no doubt be to provide wisdom and experience to the younger strikers, which will now include Joan Tincres. The 20-year-old Frenchman arrives from AS Monaco's academy but has yet to make a senior appearance.

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