A pair of Algeria national team members earned moves to a bigger stage this week with confirmation that Ahmed Touba and Akim Zedadka will be at new clubs for the 2022-23 season. The 24-year-old Touba, a left-sided player who can also operate in the center of defense, completed a transfer to Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir for €2 million. Touba signed a contract for three seasons with an option for a fourth and will compete for playing time for a club that finished in fourth place in the Turkish Super League, qualifying them for the preliminary rounds of the 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League.
Zedadka, meanwhile, moved on a free transfer from French Ligue 1 side Clermont Foot to fellow Ligue 1 club LOSC Lille. The right back was described by Lille president Olivier Letang as an “attacking and modern full back”. The 27-year-old born in France will attempt to help Lille back into the race for UEFA club competition following a disappointing 2021-22 campaign that saw them finish in tenth.
Both French-born players made their debuts with the Algeria national team over the last year. Touba made his debut in a June 2021 friendly against Mauritania and has made five appearances for the Fennecs since then, scoring Algeria’s lone goal in the second leg of their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff defeat to Cameroon. Zedadka debuted for Algeria in June 2022 by playing the full ninety minutes in a 2-1 friendly victory over Iran.
