Ayyoub Bouaddi torn between France and Morocco

Interviewed on Sunday following his club’s victory over Rennes (1-2), the 18-year-old player deliberately maintained the suspense regarding his international future. "We’ll see. There has not yet been a choice but we’ll see," he simply replied.

The uncertainty could be lifted as early as this week with the announcement of the lists for the March friendly matches. The midfielder is waiting to find out if he will be called up by Didier Deschamps for a pre-World Cup test, or if he will be among the choices of the new Moroccan coach, Mohamed Ouahbi.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation is making considerable efforts to attract this talent. President Fouzi Lekjaa and the coach visited the Pierre-Mauroy stadium on Thursday during the Europa League match between Lille and Aston Villa.

This strategic trip had the main objective of meeting with Ayyoub Bouaddi’s family. The delegation’s goal was to present a convincing sports project to his entourage, hoping to reap the rewards of a persistent courtship initiated by Morocco two years ago.