Marseille have acquired the services of Moroccan midfielder Azzedine Ounahi on a four-and-a-half-year contract from Ligue 1 rivals Angers.
Ounahi joins the nine-time French champions in a deal estimated to be around €10 million, including €2 million add-ons.
The 22-year-old was one of the breakout stars at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as his impressive performances in the midfield helped the Atlas Lions of Morocco make football history.
He played in all seven games for Walid Regragui’s side in Qatar, starting six of the games, and earned the praise of former Spain coach Luis Enrique after their Round of 16 heroics.
Ounahi moved from lowly-ranked Avranches to Angers in 2021 and went on to score two goals and get two assists in 48 appearances across all competition for the bottom-placed team in Ligue 1.
The versatile midfielder can play in numerous positions, including as a right or left midfielder, where he played occasionally for Morocco.
He joins Amine Harit as the second Morocco international in Marseille squad and the 11th African at the Stade Velodrome.
Marseille are currently third with 43 points in the Ligue 1 standings, five points behind league leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who played out a 1-1 draw with Reims on Sunday.
After their 1-1 draw against Monaco on Saturday, Ounahi will hope to make his debut when they face 13th-place Nantes on Wednesday.
🇲🇦 @AzzedineOunahi 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞! 🔥
The Moroccan attacking midfielder has signed his contract and is now 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗻 🔵⚪️#AzzedineEstOlympien pic.twitter.com/M9xFTZvdvV
— Olympique de Marseille 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@OM_English) January 29, 2023
