Esperance Sportive de Tunis coach Laurentiu Reghecampf appears to have made his initial decisions over two key positions ahead of the new season, with Florian Danho emerging as the leading choice at centre-forward and Amanullah Memish in contention to reclaim the starting goalkeeper role.
The Romanian coach is preparing for the new campaign with an extensively reshaped squad after Esperance completed a busy transfer window designed to strengthen the team for domestic and continental competition.
Club management has brought in several notable players, including Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro, while Youcef Belaili has also returned to the squad amid the continuing dispute surrounding his situation with Mouloudia Club of Algiers.
Esperance have also completed the signing of Mohamed Belhaj Mahmoud and added further players in different positions as they seek to build a deeper and more competitive squad.
With the new season approaching, attention has now turned towards Reghecampf’s preferred starting line-up.
Danho leads the striker competition
The latest information indicates that Reghecampf currently intends to give Danho the advantage in the battle to lead Esperance’s attack.
The striker enjoyed a productive campaign last season, scoring seven goals across different competitions. Four of those goals came in the league, while the remaining three were scored in the African Champions League.
Those numbers have strengthened Danho’s case to begin the new season as the team’s first-choice centre-forward.
However, his position is not guaranteed.
Adel Baltayeb is expected to provide the strongest competition after Esperance completed a two-year contract with the player. His agreement with the club runs until June 2028.
The current order among the club’s forwards reportedly places Danho first, followed by Baltayeb and then Ashraf Al-Jabri.
That hierarchy could still change once competitive matches begin, with Reghecampf expected to assess the players according to their fitness, form and performances.
The Romanian coach therefore has several options available in attack as he prepares to lead a team with considerably greater depth following the summer recruitment drive.
Memish challenges for goalkeeper role
There is also significant competition for the goalkeeper position.
Amanullah Memish has emerged as the player currently favoured by Reghecampf to take the number one position, according to the latest reports surrounding the coach’s preparations.
Memish is now being considered for a return to the starting role after the coach assessed his options during the preparation period.
However, Esperance have also strengthened the position by signing Montassar Essid on a three-year contract during the current transfer window.
Essid’s arrival demonstrates the club’s intention to create genuine competition for the goalkeeper position rather than relying on a single established option.
As a result, the goalkeeping position remains open, even though the indications currently point towards Memish being Reghecampf’s preferred choice.
His place in the starting line-up will ultimately depend on how the players perform and prepare as the season gets under way.
Transfer activity raises expectations
The competition for places comes after Esperance completed a major recruitment programme that covered several areas of the squad.
The club’s business was not restricted to one particular position. Instead, management sought to reinforce different parts of the team in an effort to provide Reghecampf with a larger pool of players capable of competing at a high level.
The scale of the transfer activity reflects the ambitions of Hamdi Meddeb’s administration, particularly following Reghecampf’s return to Esperance in the summer of 2026 to take charge of the first team.
The increased depth is expected to give the coach more alternatives as Esperance prepare to compete on multiple fronts.
That strength in numbers, however, also means selection decisions are likely to become more difficult.
The striker and goalkeeper positions are already attracting particular attention, with Danho currently ahead of Baltayeb and Al-Jabri in the forward rankings, while Memish appears to have an early advantage over Essid in goal.
Those choices are not necessarily final. Reghecampf’s rankings could change depending on the players’ condition and performances once official matches begin.
For now, though, the indications suggest that Danho and Memish have the edge as Esperance enter the final phase of preparations.
With the club having invested heavily in rebuilding its squad, expectations will be high when the new campaign begins.
The coming weeks will show whether Reghecampf sticks with his current choices or whether the increased competition created by Esperance’s transfer activity forces him to reconsider his plans.
