When Yassir Zabiri joined Stade Rennais from Portuguese side Famalicão during the winter transfer window, the move appeared to offer the ideal environment for the Moroccan forward to take the next step in his development.
Six months on, however, the 21-year-old has yet to live up to expectations.
Zabiri made just six appearances during the second half of last season, accumulating only 42 minutes of playing time as he struggled to break into the first team.
Yassir Zabiri. AFP
His adaptation has also been complicated by a managerial change. Habib Beye, who brought the young Moroccan to Rennes, was replaced only weeks later by Franck Haise, reshuffling the squad hierarchy and leaving Zabiri with another coach to impress.
Questions over his situation resurfaced at the start of pre-season. French sports daily L’Équipe reported on July 1 that Zabiri had not resumed collective training with the Rennes first team, instead following an individualized schedule.
His absence was then noted during the club’s friendly against Guingamp on July 17, when he was left out of the matchday squad.
According to several reports, the Morocco U20 international also did not travel with the rest of the Rennes squad for their pre-season training camp.
Taken together, those developments have fueled speculation about the young striker’s immediate future. Whether due to the coaching change, differing tactical preferences between Beye and Haise, or simply a lack of opportunities, Zabiri has yet to kickstart his Rennes career.
The forward arrived in France with considerable pedigree after finishing as the top scorer at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, but the progress many expected has yet to materialize.
The club may simply believe the project requires more time. Yet a departure is no longer out of the question, with a loan move increasingly mentioned as the most likely solution to help Zabiri secure regular playing time and continue his development.
More recently, reports from Marseille have suggested that Olympique de Marseille are monitoring the Moroccan youngster as they assess potential attacking reinforcements.
