AZZEDINE OUNAHI MAY HAVE MADE A MISTAKE REJECTING LEEDS AND ASTON VILLA

You know what they say about ‘World Cup signings’. For the most part, avoid them at all costs.

The early signs regarding Azzedine Ounahi at Marseille, however, seemed to suggest that the Ligue 1 giants could stay clear of the, erm, ‘Kleberson curse’. The Morocco international marked his L’OM debut with the sort of bandy-legged wizardry that earned him so many admirers over in Qatar.

Ounahi picked up possession just outside the Nantes penalty area, tied the nearby defender in knots before slotting home. So far, however, that is as good as things have got for the former Angers playmaker at the cavernous Stade Velodrome.

That remains Ounahi’s only Marseille goal. He does not have a single assist to his name either. And, in Ounahi’s single L’OM start, he was hooked at half-time during a thrilling 3-2 win at Toulouse. The Casablanca-born 22-year-old will have to wait quite a while to before he is back in Igor Tudor’s XI too.

AZZEDINE OUNAHI CHOSE MARSEILLE OVER LEEDS AND ASTON VILLA
Ounahi, L’Equipe say, will not return until the beginning of next season after fracturing his toe. That sublime solo goal against Nantes aside, this is not really the start Ounahi would have been dreaming off after rebuffing the advances of both Leeds United and Aston Villa in favour of France’s most feverish fanbase.

“We all know that many clubs were interested in me. In Italy and in England,” explains the silky, swaggering 22-year-old, one of the breakout stars of the Qatar World Cup.

“But, in the end, I chose Marseille. I made this decision because the city reminds me of my home. I find a bit of Morocco here. The club trusted me, now I’ll have to repay them and show my qualities to the team and the fans.”

‘HE IS IMPROVING’
Marseille coach Igor Tudor, it must be said, has spoken out in support of his £7 million winter signing, despite handing him just 115 out of a potential 720 Ligue 1 minutes.

“He is constantly improving, especially in training,” the former Juventus colossus told RMC Sport in March, before making another, far more worrying point.

Marseille, Tudor admits, play a ‘physical’ brand of football. Have we got a Joao Felix under Diego Simeone sort of situation on our hands? Marseille signing a paintbrush to go with all the powertools?

“We have a game that advocates physical football. (Ounahi) is a player who is improving on that. He’s a talented player, (with) high level of passing and dribbling. If he manages to integrate the other things that we see in training, I think that he can become an important player for us.”