The ES Setif Sentinel
Squad10 Aug 2026
Canaria gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Canaria has just signed for ES Setif, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
ES Setif rebuffed over Prince Adu Kwabena
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Viktoria Plzen have kept their man, and ES Setif go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Rafik Messali is a medical away from ES Setif
The deal with Toulouse FC is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
No thanks: Ahmed Kendouci rejects the move
ES Setif had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Lugano, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tempers go at ES Setif
Canaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market10 Aug 2026
Mohamed Bellahcene steps up from the ES Setif academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mohamed Bellahcene has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
Hicham Haddad steps up from the ES Setif academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hicham Haddad has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Hillal Bounedjah joins the ES Setif first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Hillal Bounedjah is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
ES Setif promote Riyad Benrahma from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Riyad Benrahma has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- Squad Canaria needs a bigger stage
- Transfer targets ES Setif ask about Soriba Diaoune
- Squad Kamel Hamidi wants to know why he earns less