Salim Boukhenchouche says French gaffer Frank Dumas does not like him as he ends his love-affair with Algerian Premier League club JSK Kabylie.
The 27-year-old fell out with Dumas following his performance in Monday’s 2-0 defeat to deposed champions CS Constantine, a thing the French man considers a lacklustre display.
The central midfielder climbed off the bench in that duel in a campaign that has seen him used sparingly before a heated argument ensued between the pair leading Frank to ask chairman Charif Millal to accept offers for the player, according to a source.
Millal had been unwilling to cash in on a player acquired for €250,000 from Medea just last year prior to reluctantly taking the decision after the coach said he has reached his breaking point.
The duo’s fractious relationship began in recent months when Salim and Mehdi Benaldjia arrived some minutes late for training which they had a severe dressing down for. The two Desert Foxes’ players were consequently punished and fined before being re-admitted into the first-team set up.
Mehdi has since departed the club on the back of a similar squabble with Frank who is known for his hard-man style of management.
Boukhenchouche feels he’d had enough and quickly reached out to Ait Taha, his representative, to engineer a move.
“I am not liked specifically on the side of coach Dumas who continues to marginalize me. Otherwise, I have no problem with anyone at JSK. I have excellent relations with everyone and Mellal wanted to dissuade me from changing my mind. So, this is Dumas my only problem.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“I am not a great player, but my level and my modest international status allow me to have a better status. I am not 20 years old to wait again and wait for my chance. When I’m on the field, I wet my shirt and I do not accept defeat. In conclusion, the current circumstances pushed me to make this irrevocable decision,”[/perfectpullquote]
he said hours before uploading a picture bidding farewell to JS Kabylie fans.
The playmaker is not short of takers with a blizzard of interest in him.
Club Africain of Tunisia, Algeria’s Eente Sportif Setif including El Foujaira from the United Arab Emirates have all lodged enquiries regarding the player’s availability.
The 27-year-old’s current contract runs out June 2019 and any possibility of deal being brokered hinges on Millal’s willingness to accept an offer who’s understood to be holding out for two billion Algerian dinars.
Asked about his fate, Salim says he’s undecided about it but confirms negotiations are ongoing.
“There is a serious touch but I cannot say anything. I am not the master of my destiny and I count, above all, on the president of the club. Mellal is a man and he will certainly find a solution that will facilitate my departure,” he said.
