Cristian Casseres refocuses at Toulouse after fraught January and blocked exit | OneFootball

After a difficult January and a thwarted move, Cristian Casseres has reset to reclaim a leadership role in a buoyant Toulouse side before Sunday’s 17:15 trip to Angers.

A month on from a chaotic visit to the Stade Raymond-Kopa, he returns in a different frame of mind. On 10 January he stayed on the bench as Toulouse reached the Coupe de France last 16 after a 1-1 draw and a 6-5 shootout. According to L'Équipe, coach Carles Martinez Novell did not consider him ready, and sporting director Viktor Bezhani later said the midfielder had been unhappy, but had improved and was helping the team, citing internal issues behind his dip.

With the window shut and Toulouse refusing a winter exit despite his ambition to step up, the Venezuela international, capped 28 times and under contract until 2027, has accepted the stance and focused on competing.

He was revived against Nice on 17 January, scoring with a fierce strike in a 5-1 Ligue 1 win after coming on. He chose not to celebrate and even pushed away team-mates, a reaction criticised by supporters and fuelled by concrete interest from Sevilla and Genoa, though the situation quickly calmed.

Reserved by nature, he is now viewed as fully engaged in the project, taking a guiding role with youngsters such as 17-year-old Alexis Vossah, regularly alongside him.

For Casseres, it is a way to manage the transition before closing his Toulouse chapter with a transfer next summer.

Source: L'Équipe