Ligue1.com takes a look at the five new players you should be most excited to see strutting their stuff in the coming campaign…

1) Jonathan David

Club: LOSC

Signed from: Gent

Position: Forward

Age: 20

Country: Canada (12 caps/11goals)/USA)

Bayern Munich's young left-back Alphonso Davies may be enjoying plenty of plaudits for his recent performances in the UEFA Champions League, but if Canada is on the cusp of a golden generation then David is its focal point.

Born in Brooklyn to Haitian parents, David emigrated with his family to Canada when he was six, settling in Ottawa where he attended a French-speaking school. He always intended to have a European soccer career, and that dream became reality in 2018 when he signed for Belgian outfit Gent.

Two years and 30 goals in 60 games for De Buffalos later and David's talent has quickly outgrown his surroundings. A versatile attacker who can lead the line or start deeper and wider, David enjoyed his most prolific season to date in 2019-20, his 18 league goals and eight assists coming in at a rate of one every 81 minutes he played.

With Victor Osimhen joining Napoli after an impressive 13-goal season, there a big boots to fill at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, but in David, Les Dogues look to have found a replacement whose bite is increasingly keeping up with his bark.

2) Leonardo Balerdi

Club: Olympique de Marseille

Signed from: Borussia Dortmund

Position: Centre-back

Age: 21

Country: Argentina (2 caps)

Regarded as Argentina's most promising young centre-back, Balerdi swapped Boca Juniors for Dortmund at the start of last season but found first-team opportunities at a premium at the Signal Iduna Park, making 12 appearances in all competitions for the Bundesliga side and their reserves over the course of his first European campaign.

National team coach Lionel Scaloni has had fewer reservations, however, handing the Villa Mercedes-born defender his Argentina debut in a 4-0 win over Mexico last September, and he enjoyed another runout in a 6-1 destruction of Ecuador a few weeks later. Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Leandro Paredes scored in both games, and Balerdi is ready to mix it with his compatriot domestically too.

A ball-playing centre-back who stands at 6'1", Balerdi's seven Bundesliga appearances last season did at least result in five clean sheets. His presence could allow OM coach André Villas-Boas to push Boubacar Kamara up into midfield on a more regular basis, with Alvaro Gonzalez and Duje Caleta-Car the ones looking over their shoulders for a place in the starting line-up… unless Villas-Boas fancies a back three.

3) Morgan Schneiderlin

Club: OGC Nice

Signed from: Everton

Position: Defensive midfielder

Age: 30

Country: France (15 caps)

Former RC Strasbourg Alsace midfielder Schneiderlin is back in France after a 12-year spell in England which took in stints at Southampton, Manchester United and, most recently, Everton. After earning consecutive promotions to reach the Premier League with the Saints, Schneiderlin won the double of FA Cup and Community Shield with United in 2016 before securing a spot in Didier Deschamps' France squad for the UEFA European Championship on home soil that year. In short, he brings bags of experience.

"He's a man the youngsters can really rely on," explained Nice coach Patrick Vieira, a legend for France and Arsenal in the same position Schneiderlin now occupies. "He's a great professional; one of those players who's an example. He's played at the very top level. As a defensive midfielder, he sacrifices himself a lot for his teammates. He gets through a lot of work. He's able to set the tempo and dictate our play thanks to his technical ability. He's going to contribute on and off the pitch. I'm putting a lot of pressure on him."

With 19-year-old Khéphren Thuram and Alexis Claude-Maurice, 22, among those players who closed out the season occupying central midfield positions, Schneiderlin could be just the man to help ease them into their prime as Nice look to build upon last season's fifth-place finish.

4) Valon Berisha

Club: Stade de Reims

Signed from: Lazio

Position: Left midfielder

Age: 27

Country: Kosovo (20 caps/3 goals)/Norway (20 caps)

Reims have qualified for European football next season for the first time since their 1950s heyday, and although they may no longer boast world-class midfielders like Raymond Kopa and Jean Vincent, they have at least added a player of quite some continental acclaim in Berisha.

Born in Sweden to Kosovo Albanian parents, Berisha racked up 20 international appearances with Norway before FIFA accepted Kosovo as a member in 2016. Special dispensation allowed players of Kosovan descent to change their international allegiance despite previous senior outings, and Berisha seized his chance, scoring the first of his three goals in 20 caps in a 1-1 draw with Finland in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

Used as an attacking left-winger in four seasons with Red Bull Salzburg, Berisha scored 31 goals in 165 games and won back-to-back Austrian Bundesliga titles before leaving for Lazio in 2018. His career in Italy never really got going and by the time he joined Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan last season, he had become a more central, defensive, player.

At 27, Berisha still has plenty of time to get his game back on track, and with his grit, versatility, and previous eye for goal, there is every chances he can resurrect his career in the same way his new employers did their European ambitions.

5) Andres Cubas

Club: Nîmes Olympique

Signed from: Talleres

Position: Defensive midfielder

Age: 24

Country: Paraguay (1 cap)/Argentina (U20 cap)

Nîmes only survived relegation by the skin of their crocodile teeth last term having averaged just 0.14 more points per game than 19th-place Amiens SC when the season was discontinued following the coronavirus outbreak. The South coast club clearly plan to finish further north in the standings next season, and the acquisition of Cubas should help no end.

A diminutive figure at 5'4" tall, opponents would be foolish to take Cubas's ball-winning ability for granted. With his turn of pace and low centre of gravity, Cubas is tenacious in trying to win back possession yet has the composure to distribute to a teammate once the dirty work is done. His style is eerily similar to N'Golo Kanté's, and Nîmes may just have pulled off the coup of the summer in persuading him to sign.

An Argentine Primera Division winner with Boca Juniors in 2015, Cubas is actually one of two players to have swapped Talleres for Ligue 1 Uber Eats this summer, alongside Argentina U23 left-back Facundo Medina, who has joined promoted RC Lens. Cubas is perhaps the more exciting arrival, though. Paraguay have already won their international tug-of-war with Argentina to cap Cubas, and Nîmes can expect to win many more games with the midfield terrier in their ranks.