Decisive in the last five Ligue 1 Uber Eats games, Youcef Belaili has definitely won the hearts of Brest after a complicated adaptation period. Scorer against Bordeaux this Saturday, Youcef Belaili will be at the center of attention in the transfer window of the Greens of Europe this summer. Main concern for Belaili, whether this future will be written at Stade Brestois.
Will or will not stay Brestois? This is undoubtedly the question that Youcef Belaili and Brest supporters are asking themselves at the end of the 2021/2022 Ligue 1 Uber Eats exercise. Arriving at the very end of the winter transfer window, the Algerian managed to punctuate this season in style, scoring three goals and delivering an assist in the last five league games played. Flattering statistics for the one who had been expected in Europe for so many years and who suffered from a first part of the season truncated by the Arab Cup and an incredible end to the adventure in Qatar SC.
Coming for a six-month lease to compensate for the departure of Romain Faivre, Youcef Belaili has known over the weeks to find his place in the system of Michel Der Zakarian who admitted last Friday that negotiations were underway with the player to continue the Finistère adventure. An indication confirmed half-word by the player himself during an interview with the local press on the sidelines of this last day of the championship lost against Bordeaux (2-4). Preparing for the next summer transfer window. the sports director of SB29, Grégory Lorenzi, mentioned the case of the Algerian international, still under contract until the end of June, to our colleagues from Ouest-France.
Requirements that could diverge from Brest capacities
Arrived with a certain popular fervor in Brest, Grégory Lorenzi returned to the first weeks of the Algerian in Brittany. “People were tough with him at first, like with Marco (Bizot). They judged very quickly. There was a lot of media unpacking around Youcef, so people may have been harder on him” abounds Lorenzi on this subject. A rather complicated adaptation period before gaining momentum over the weeks, thus attracting the praise of the staff and the management of the club. A satisfaction which thus opens the way to negotiations for a contract extension as admitted by Grégory Lorenzi during this interview.
If the desire to extend seems common, the space for negotiations between the two parties seems limited. It is in any case the sound of the bell given by the sports director of the Breton club as to the subject of the extension of the Algerian. “There are discussions but I have a framework that I will respect. If Youcef wants to continue with us, we want that too, but there are things a club can’t dohe says. History to place the angle of the negotiations on a financial aspect which could motivate the entourage of the player in the decision-making of the former master to play of ES Tunis. Decisive in recent weeks in maintaining Brest in the elite, Belaili would be courted by several French clubs (Lille, Toulouse, Nice) according to the latest public statements from his father and agent.
A situation well known to observers of Belaili’s career which could lead to a summer full of twists and turns to determine the future destination of the 30-year-old winger. The arguments for staying in Brest in order to continue its rise in a major championship could convince Belaili. In any case, this is the argument defended by Grégory Lorenzi: “By staying with us, he will have the opportunity to redo his preparation, to better assimilate the mode of operation of the coach, the rhythm of Ligue 1 to be an even more efficient player. But I am not in the head of Youcef or his entourage”. The Belaili soap opera could therefore resume with a vengeance this summer.
DZfoot