Tuesday 29 January 2013

YOUNES BELHANDA

Who is he? Where does he play?

He is one of the last remaining survivors of Montpellier's Ligue 1 title winning squad of last year and is currently at the centre of a game of tug-o'-war between scattergun spenders QPR and Turkish club Fenerbache. There have also been rumour of Arsenal and Tottenham chasing the French-born Moroccan attacking midfielder they call "The Magician".

Does he do magic tricks then?

I don't know what he's like with a deck of cards but he's capable of doing great things with the football having led Montpellier to the title last season alongside Olivier Giroud, now of Arsenal and Yang Mbwia, now of Newcastle. I was a season where he got 13 goals and 5 assists from his creative haven of either the wing, or in the middle between the lines. He won the Player of the Year too, as well as the goal of the season award, young player of the season award, a place in the Ligue 1 team of the year AND the best African in Ligue 1 award. I feel sorry for his mantelpiece.

So where's he going?

Inter Milan have been interested in the Moroccan but now it seems likely the 22 year old will follow the migration of talent to Istanbul with Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder having gone to Galatasary. The eccentric Montpellier chairman Laurent Nicollan has given the green light to Fenerbache to sign Belhanda, if they come good with a more attractive payment plan of course, while the English media claim the player is available for £10 million. Most English "journalists" have gone a step further and done what all good media men do towards the end of a transfer window and linked an available player to a desperate, free spending manager;

"REDKNAPP WANTS BELHANDA AT QPR"

Fenerbache? A bit obscure ain't it?

The big clubs are understandably showing a reluctance at signing a player who does remain something of an enigma, possibly due to his young age. He can go from the sublime of a wonderful performance vs PSG last year  to the utterly stupidity of the fight against Evian which saw him suspended for the first few campaigns of this campaign. He has spoke of his pent-up aggression, his feeling that he has to take matters into his own hands at all times and sometimes his self-control suffers as a result. He picked himself up two red cards last season, two already this season and despite the technical brilliance, his volatile side is always ready to come out.

That's a shame....

For a creative talent who is so good at holding bigger players off and can dribble so well against defenders, as well as being able to deliver a deadly set-piece, it is an almighty shame he can let himself down so easily with the most trivial of temper-losses. Hopefully that side of his game will improve as he matures and that the motive behind a move to Turkey appears to be the chance to do that. 




No comments:

Post a Comment