In addition to Riyad Mahrez, Youcef Belaili, and Islam Slimani, another key player of the Algerian team is reportedly set to be excluded from Vladimir Petkovic’s final squad, according to information from La Gazette du Fennec.
Over the past two months, Vladimir Petkovic has focused his efforts on the central defense, which he sees as an unfinished project due to the lack of sustainable solutions. Since taking office in March, he has felt the need to rethink this essential defensive line to build a solid playing style.
Petkovic has spent the last few weeks evaluating various profiles and traveling across the country in hopes of finding a reliable defender. Currently, Belaid and Madani have not convinced the coach of their potential. Although the CSC defender has a slight advantage over his USMA counterpart, he remains a backup option.
Faced with this situation, Petkovic has turned to Chouaib Keddad from CRB. At 28 years old, Keddad, a four-time Algerian champion, has impressed the coach with his experience in Africa, surpassing Ayoub Ghezala from MCA. A source even indicated that if Petkovic had more choices, even Aïssa Mandi could have been excluded from the list.
These choices remain by default, illustrating that strengthening the central axis of the Algerian team is still a priority. A dual-national player is also on the verge of changing sporting nationality to join the Greens. In the meantime, Petkovic will have to work with the available options and see how they develop.
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