For Hans Kraay Jr., the disappearance of Mohamed Ihattaren from the football radar is the moment of calendar year 2021. The nineteen-year-old attacker left PSV last summer for an adventure in Italy, but he has been in the Netherlands for some time now. For weeks Ihattaren was without a trace and unreachable, although he occasionally made himself heard via social media. For example, he is working with a personal trainer in the hopes of getting his career back on track.
Kraay Jr. saw Ihattaren play for PSV Under-19 at the age of sixteen. “Even a blind horse could see the incredible talent this boy had and still has. A great left leg, great technique and great flair.” Things were going well for Ihattaren, until the teenager faced a personal setback: the death of his father. “Everyone thought: Jesus, what a great footballer this could turn out to be.. (…) Everything seemed to be going well until his father passed away after a long illness. And that touched him very, very deeply,” says Kraay Jr. at ESPN.
The moment of Hans Kraay jr.: the disappearance of Mo Ihattaren from the football radar. ???? “I hope there is someone who will say to him: Mo, you have so much talent, you are going to work yourself to the bone and get the most out of you”#TheMomentof2021 pic.twitter.com/XXEgiGe7p2
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) December 26, 2021
Ihattaren got ‘off the football path’, as Kraay Jr. also saw. The attacker eventually went from PSV to Juventus in the summer, which then stored the teenager at Sampdoria. The talent also did not get to play in Genoa and suddenly left for the Netherlands. Ihattaren is working with a personal trainer in hopes of getting his career back on track. “Whether he trains hard, whether he trains soft, or whether he trains often, nobody knows,” Kraay Jr. regrets Sunday.
“I just hope there is one person who has a grip on him. Someone who says to him, ‘Mo, you’re so talented. You’re going to work yourself to pieces. And you’re going to get everything you need out of it.’. I hope so.” Ihattaren is no longer represented by Mino Raiola, but has joined the office of Ali Dursun. With Dursun, Ihattaren has again opted for a well-known accompanist. The agent has been looking after the interests of Frenkie de Jong for years and recently also those of, among others, Donny van de Beek and Tyrell Malacia.
Ihattaren last played an official game on April 24: seven minutes into PSV’s 1-0 win over FC Groningen. The attacker’s contract in Turin runs until the summer of 2025. Dursun believes in Ihattaren’s chances of a restart and wants to help him with that. The advocate believes that Ihattaren ‘should do a number of things differently’, but also thinks that the midfielder needs good guidance, he said earlier. Dursun hopes for peace for his client for the time being.