Grasshoppers release trio

Swiss champions Grasshopper-Club have trimmed their squad as they look to reduce their budget.

Cabanas departure
Swiss international midfield player Ricardo Cabanas has already been sold to French Ligue 1 club En Avant Guingamp and the Zurich outfit have now released three more players.

Trio leave
The 26-year-old striker António Barijho is to return to Argentina and sign for Club Atlético Boca Juniors, while Chilean international midfield player Sebastian Rozental and Swiss central defender Marc Hodel are also leaving.

Digging deep
With a UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie approaching in August, Grasshoppers will have to dig deep into their resources if they are to emulate the success of rivals FC Basel, who reached the second group stage of last season's competition.

Pushing their claims
Two players who will hope to push their first-team claims at Grasshoppers in the future are Swiss Under-21 international midfield player Rijat Shala, who has returned from a loan spell at FC Lugano, and teenage Bosnia-Herzegovnian goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic, who also joined the first team as they began pre-season training.