Taarabt Mulling Over Nations Cup
Over the past few years Adel Taarabt has established himself as one of QPR‘s most dangerous assets and bearing this in mind, some supporters might be sweating over his motives over the next couple of weeks. The former Tottenham forward has been asked to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations next month but with his domestic side struggling so badly, the player claims that he has a very tough decision to make.
Since joining the R’s in 2009, Taarabt has been one of the key players at the club and was constantly linked with big money moves to top European sides last season. In fact, after indicating that his future lies away from Loftus Road on a number of occasions, many supporters are surprised that he is still here to tell the tale. Nevertheless, he has remained at the club and unfortunately for fans, many have claimed that his performances have deteriorated following all of that speculation last term.
Still, there is no doubt that Taarabt is one of QPR’s best players and they will be pinning lots of hopes on him assisting them in their battle against the drop. Even though Harry Redknapp has now taken over the reins at the club, many are unsure if QPR have what it takes to retain their divisional status as they linger at the foot of the table without one league victory to their name. Such a winless run is the worst the Premier League has ever seen at the start of the season.
Bearing the above in mind, the last thing that fans wanted to hear is the loss of Taarabt. However, the player claims that he has already been asked by his national coach and while he knows that he has a big responsibility to QPR, his heart is telling him to go and represent Morocco in the tournament. This comes despite the fact that Redknapp has already told him that he wants him to remain with the team and help them pick up points over January. If he goes against his manager’s wishes, he could be set to miss up to five important games through the month.
Taarabt is understood to be under pressure from his fellow countryman to represent the team and not desert them in their month of need. The fact that Morocco have been drawn in a relatively weak group is also probably going to play on his mind, with the nation having a very good chance of progressing after being pitted against Bafana Bafana, Cape Verde and Angola in the group stages of the tournament.
There have always been question marks over the relationship between Taarabt and Harry Redknapp, after Redknapp sold the player during his time in charge of Tottenham. Redknapp has always maintained that he was under pressure to sign off such a move, but considering his wheeler-dealer nature, you have to wonder if Taarabt could be really shooting himself in the foot if he does leave QPR when it is clear that they desperately need a player of his calibre.
