Walid Cheddira’s rather miserable World Cup campaign certainly felt like a bit of an outlier.
Morroco, over in Qatar, became the first African nation ever to reach the semi-finals of the game’s most prestigious competition, knocking out Spain, Portugal and Belgium along the way. Hakim Ziyech was a world away from his Chelsea form. Youssef En-Nesyri put that barren spell at Sevilla behind him. Romain Saiss, at 32, produced some of his finest ever performances on the world stage. And the hitherto unknown Azzedine Ounahi earned himself a life-changing switch to Marseille.
But Cheddira, arguably Morocco’s most in-form player heading into the tournament, ended it with more red cards than goals; sent off for two rapid-fire yellows in the quarter-final victory over Portugal.
Since returning to Bari, however, Cheddira has gone about his business like a man desperate to make up for his disappointment on the world stage. Four goals and one assist in his last four Serie B outings. In total, Cheddira now has 18 goals and six assists across 19 matches in all competitions in 2022/23.
Could Walid Cheddira replace Victor Osimhen at Serie A leaders Napoli?
“Cheddira is growing tremendously. He has improved a lot since last season, especially from a goalscoring point of view,” former Bari ace Igor Protti tells Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He has always been devastating. But, this year, he has made a big leap in maturity and performance.”
That ‘big leap’ has not gone unnoticed. According to Gianluca di Marzio and Serie B News, Cheddira’s emergence as one of Italy’s most lethal marksmen is catching the eye of a wide array from clubs, from Napoli and Nottingham Forest to Tottenham Hotspur.
“Napoli were close to (signing) Cheddira. They wanted to buy him in January, and then register him in June,” Rai Sport reporter Ciro Venerato explains, indicating that the £7 million-rated poacher is likely to be on his way out of Bari regardless of whether their promotion push is successful.
“The boy was honored by Napoli’s interest. We need to understand the plans which revolve around Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Simeone. It was decided to postpone everything until June, when both the player and Napoli will have clearer ideas.”
By the summer, Napoli will certainly have a ‘clearer idea’ about whether or not Osimhen needs replacing; Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Chelsea just three of the clubs weighing up breaking the bank for arguably Europe’s most coveted number nine.
Cheddira, then, could have big shoes to fill at Napoli. If he thrives or fails depends largely on which Cheddira the Partonepei sign; the World Cup version, or the Bari version.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
