BLennard

https://www.facebook.com/redazioneforzanovara/videos/️-le-prime-parole-di-easton-ongaro-in-azzurro-forzanovara-novarafc/1086910029323784/ Little Canadian wholesomeness for his first press conference as Desjardins is used as his translator. Desjardins makes a pretty funny joke at the end, where a journalist asks Easton if he'll resign with the club and Desjardins says he should have some sort of compensation if he does, to which the manager (i think?) replies to Desjardins that he's sounding like a south Italian.

Serie C viewing has been made impossible this season with Sky Sports acquiring all the rights. A shame really. Not a lot of quality illegal streams either. I enjoyed watching some of Desjardins's and Breza's games last season, but this season, i'm relegated to the match highlights.

From the Novara pages I follow, he's expected to arrive in Novara today. When was the last time two Canadians played on the same team in Italy?

https://youtu.be/0qZFu4QJNQU?si=baFo1oMQnPlV2KB- From his last game, I'd say his shot stopping is much better than his feet. Looks like he wanted to create his own highlight reel. Jokes aside, he had a really busy evening and won his team the match. Hopefully this puts some eyes on him for a loan out.

i mean it really depends on the style of play. To name a few great keepers who are absolute units: Alisson, Ederson, Neuer, Di Gregorio, Maignan... if you have the leg power to support it, having a strong and bulky build is even better on 1v1. Hell, even Borjan and Crepeau are trucks!

i think he's just built like a truck, look at those legs on the second pic https://www.instagram.com/p/C1K-qpttmlC/?igsh=MXAzMTIwM2tpYmtwNQ==

After seeing Desjardins on every Novara instagram post and the praising comments, I had to find the highlights of the game today. Some nice stuff, especially that final save!

This is their second season in serie C. They got promoted straight up after they were sent to serie D for shady business.

Axel Desjardins played in Novara's opening match. Ended in a 0-0 draw. Didn't find any stream but here are the highlights:

I've only seen the highlights but that pass accuracy for 31 passes against a team 2 divisions higher is actually insane.

Got absolutely annihilated by Chukwueze on the first goal, but faired pretty well until he got subbed off around the 60th minute. At 23, he's at the age where he needs to start showing if he can keep up with the other cmnt gks. I feel it's going to be an important season for Desjardins's career.

Played the first half today in a friendly against Sampdoria. He let in the only goal of the game. Here's the post game interview of the coach: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvnaNphrdbM/?hl=en At about 1 minute 10 seconds he talks about the keepers. Since the other keeper played well during the second half, he was asked if it'll be difficult to choose between the two. Says with confidence that 'Deja' is their main man, but that he's very proud of the boys. Pissardo who was the other starter last season has yet to feature in any friendly even though he's still with the team. Looks like Desjardins will be the main keeper for Novara this season. They got rid of a lot of players and have signed a lot of young guys and the new coach is Desjardins's old teammate if I'm correct. It will surely be a different kind of season with different kinds of ambitions. Novara have a friendly against AC Milan coming up next, hopefully it'll be streamed!

Very well said. I'll sound like a broken record here, but being good at practice vs being good in-game are two completely different things. Game management, communication with your defence, in-game adaptability and even confidence are all things bettered with game time, and this is what he needs ASAP. He needs to make those clumsy mistakes early, take some fat Ls, let in some stinkers, f* up some passes. This is how you learn to play. At 23, soon 24, he can't be sitting on the bench and starting those 3-4 cup games. It's crucial! Just look at Dean Henderson who massively slowed down his progress by having one season sitting on the bench. I think the 2 season contract is to send him on-loan this year and if he does well, they'll still be tied to him for the season after and can then re-assess his situation. But I hate judging him for his potential. I'll say it again but Desjardins at 20 years old and Breza have both been on the bench in serie A and it doesn't make them any better than Crepeau or DSC or even Sirois.

A bit off topic to this current discussion, but Sirois has been amazing. He still needs a lot of work with the ball at his feet, but I see no reason for Pantemis to start straight away when he comes back. Pantemis's injury has accelerated his playing time, but I think it's now inevitable that Sirois will win the starting spot. Of course we'll see some mistakes like last game along the way, but I find him to be a proper keeper and the closest, potential wise, to DSC. For now, as 3rd keeper, I'd still bring up McGill to the NT as long as Sirois is still playing for Montreal. But there's no better morale booster than being called up and that's why I hope the selection prioritizes young proven hard working guys that actually play games and not sit on the bench.

Novara's owner is now the only one in charge at the club, everybody else has been let go. Very strong rumours about the club being sold. https://www.lavocedinovara.com/sport/novara-fc-liquidato-il-dg-vitali-quale-futuro-per-il-club/ Desjardins still has 2 years to his contract. Maybe time for him to come home?