Zinedine Ferhat is stuck at Nimes with the reported Rangers target no closer to leaving a club that suffered relegation from Ligue 1 last season, head coach Pascal Plancque has told Midi Libre.
In March, when Les Crocodiles were still snapping at the heels of their relegation rivals, one of the most underrated playmakers in France left no one in doubt about his plans.
“I am currently playing my second season with Nimes. It will be my last before leaving the club,” Ferhat told BeIN Sports.
At the time, the Algeria international probably didn’t expect to be playing second-tier football five months later. But that is the reality he faces with just a few weeks of the transfer window remaining.
Ferhat has been linked with Rangers and Marseille but, because of a paucity of offers for a player valued in the region of £4 million, Ferhat’s first outing in 2021/22 came during a Ligue 2 clash with Dijon on Saturday.
Has a Rangers move passed Ferhat by?
“Not much has progressed. There is no satisfactory offer that has arrived at the club,” Plancque explains. “I must speak with (Ferhat).”
In May, FootMercato reported Steven Gerrard’s Rangers were one of a number of clubs casting an eye over the cultured Ferhat.
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Since then, the Glasgow side has snapped up former Sheffield United ace John Lundstram on a free transfer who, like Ferhat, is arguably at his most effective in a right-sided, central midfield role.
“We often go fishing abroad, while I think there are a lot of good players in France. Zinedine is one of them,” says former Marseille ace Mamadou Niang, encouraging his former employers to bid for a man who contributed six goals and ten assists despite suffering relegation last season.
“In a side like Marseille, which needs a lot of quality players, (Ferhat) could offer a lot. He’s smart and, technically, he’s pretty good. And he knows how to make the last pass.”
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