Algerian strikers Baghdad Bounedjah and Islam Slimani are on the verge of being out at their respective clubs due to conflicts with their managers. Bounedjah, who has been a scoring force for Al Sadd SC in the Qatar Stars League for years, has seen a dip in form for club and country that culminated in him being overlooked for Algeria’s squad in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff against Cameroon. After not being called upon for Al Sadd’s last three AFC Champions League matches, it appears Bounedjah’s deteriorating relationship with coach Javi Gracia will see him depart soon.
It is a similar case for Algeria national team all-time leading scorer Slimani, who was left out of Portuguese club Sporting CP’s squad for Monday’s league match against Boavista. The 33-year-old has not scored for his club since March 14 and since then has seen his role decline, not being in the squad for the second leg of Sporting’s cup defeat to FC Porto. Sporting manager Ruben Amorim declared that his team will play without a striker rather than use Slimani for the remainder of the season.
La Gazette du Fennec has more on both cases below.
