Last December, Morocco achieved the feat of reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. The opportunity for several players to come to light, in particular Azzedine Ounahi and Sofyan Amrabat. Others were able to revive like Hakim Ziyech or Sofiane Boufal. And a few weeks before the winter transfer window, we expected several transfers to upscale clubs for some of these players. It was not the case. And this summer, the transfers that took place were surprising. A look behind the scenes of a rather confusing transfer window with several twists and turns.
First, the Sofyan Amrabat case rocked the transfer window until the last day and the outcome with his signing on the wire at Manchester United. The 26-year-old defensive midfielder, who had marked the World Cup, was coveted, but it didn’t really move. The player quickly agreed contractually with Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona. Problem, these two clubs do not really have money and cannot formulate a sufficient offer for Fiorentina. Barça abandons this expensive track despite a discussion between Xavi and Amrabat. The Colchoneros believe in it until the end hoping to sell Joao Felix (which will not happen).
Romain Saiss was from Rennes
Subsequently, several big clubs are interested in the player without taking action (Bayern Munich, Liverpool). The player does not want an intermediate club and therefore rejects offers from West Ham or Fulham in England. He even says he is ready to stay at Fiorentina if he has nothing interesting. Faced with the slowness of the negotiations, Sofyan Amrabat changed agent in the middle of the transfer window, while his brother, very established in Saudi Arabia, negotiated with Al-Nassr or Al-Ahli. Al-Ahli is ready to make a non-refusable offer for the player and his club, but manager Matthias Jaissle prefers the club to spend that money on Franck Kessié. The player will end up refusing Saudi Arabia to stay in Europe. He has his preference and wants to join Juventus who will take action only in the event of the sale of Dusan Vlahovic (which will not happen as well). Finally, Manchester United say they want the player, but will make a concrete offer only in the last hours of the transfer window.
In the department of crazy twists, there is also the Romain Saiss case. The 33-year-old Moroccan central defender wants to leave Besiktas and after talking with OM then Lens, he takes the direction of Qatar and Al-Sadd. A transfer that makes a lot of talk and that the player also wanted to explain in our columns. We thought his case would be settled except that… Al-Sadd, who has a limit of foreign players, does not include the Moroccan on his list. The player cannot therefore play with his new club.
Nayef Aguerd rejects Naples
Faced with this situation, several clubs are interested in the player. And it logically does not take long to find a club. In search of a central defender, Rennes agrees with the player for one year. Saiss must therefore land in Rennes two days before the end of the transfer window, except that Al-Sadd blocks the transfer and explains to the player that a solution will be found quickly to put him on the list. The Qatari club explains to him that they would like to see him play with them. The transfer to Rennes is cancelled. The formation of Bruno Génesio could have welcomed another Moroccan in this transfer window: Nayef Aguerd.
The 27-year-old Morocco international shone at West Ham last season and established himself as a powerhouse starter for the Hammers. But his life in Rennes marked him and he is not against returning to Brittany while West Ham wants to complete the Harry Maguire and Mavropanos file. West Ham therefore wants to send the Moroccan in a deal with Jérémy Doku to convince Rennes, but it will not succeed. In this same transfer window, the player had refused an offer from… Napoli who were looking for a replacement for Kim-min Jae.
Dubai’s Hakim Ziyech at Galatasaray
One of the most improbable files on the Moroccan side is called Hakim Ziyech. After his narrowly missed transfer to PSG last January, the Moroccan international, who was no longer part of Chelsea’s plans, is looking for a new club. The 30-year-old midfielder has the distinction of having no agent and is represented by a close friend, his manager. After several weeks without an offer, Al-Nassr finally arrives and wants to offer the Moroccan for his attack. An XXL offer for the player who agrees directly to join Saudi Arabia by doubling his salary. The agreement is closed, even with Chelsea. The player passes his medical examination and as during his VM at PSG, a knee problem is detected.
Al-Nassr took the opportunity to renegotiate the Moroccan’s contract. For what ? Because the Saudi club is also thinking of making other attackers this summer (Sadio Mané) and therefore does not want to waste a cartridge from an extra-community player. The player refuses the new contract much less advantageous financially. Subsequently, he asks his manager to get closer to Cristiano Ronaldo’s new agent to find a base in Saudi Arabia. Without success. He also uses a former Moroccan international midfielder to find a club in Dubai, but it is not conclusive. Finally, Galatasaray arrives and offers an interesting project to the player who was beginning to despair. Popular club, interesting sports project, Hakim Ziyech agrees to lower his salary to live a last exciting challenge.
Yassine Bounou, Al-Hilal after missed files
Finally, Yassine Bounou was also disappointed this summer by joining Al-Hilal despite his excellent level for several seasons. The Moroccan, who is among the best goalkeepers in the world, wanted to leave Sevilla and Sevilla needed the money. The Moroccan goalkeeper was approached by PSG who were looking for a number 2. Luis Enrique enjoyed the game at the foot of Bounou. Paris quickly agreed on the contract with the player. But Sevilla demanded 20 million and the Parisian offer of 12 million was refused. Bayern Munich then positioned themselves to temporarily replace Neuer. Again, Yassine Bounou said yes. The Munich board also even if the sum requested slowed down the German club. But Tuchel wanted Kepa on loan. The Chelsea goalkeeper finally left for Real Madrid who wanted Bounou as a priority. And with all these missed files, the Moroccan ended up accepting the offer from Al-Hilal which had been on the table for several weeks. We can also cite Yahya Attiat-Allah, the left side of Wydad, proposed in Europe, in vain. Or Youssef En-Nesyri tracked by West Ham and Al-Hilal (who had even made an offer to Seville) and Azzedine Ounahi tracked by Barça and Inter Milan (who had too many extra-community members in his squad to pass to action) at the end of the transfer window.
