Roger Schmidt expects Mohamed Ihattaren to make a transfer in the closing days of the summer transfer window. The PSV trainer put the nineteen-year-old attacking midfielder out of the A-selection earlier this season and has absolutely no intention of giving him another chance, he said at the press conference.
It has been quiet for a while about a possible transfer for Ihattaren, who has only been fixed at PSV for one year. “I think he’s going to leave,” Schmidt said nonetheless. When asked if he would return to his group, the German replied shortly and firmly: “No.” Ihattaren sat on the bench for the very first official game of the season against Galatasaray (5-1 win) and was kicked out of the selection shortly after. The midfielder had called in sick just before, but then traveled to Monaco to visit his agent Mino Raiola and talk about his sporting future. OGC Nice and AS Monaco were briefly mentioned as possible destinations during that period.
Schmidt saw his team settle with FC Groningen (5-2) on Saturday evening. “It wasn’t easy to play today,” he told ESPN on the elimination in the Champions League against Benfica midweek. “We didn’t play perfectly, but we were able to win with our attitude, will and hard work. I’m very happy with today’s performance.”
PSV scored twice from a corner. “We train it, of course,” laughed Schmidt. “Hopefully it stays that way. Corners are always a difficult thing. You can train a lot on them and still not score from them. We now have the players who can score those kinds of goals. André Ramalho is particularly good at the air, both offensively and defensively. Hopefully in the coming weeks we can show that we can score even more from it.”
Schmidt is satisfied with the first period of the season at PSV. “When I look at the last ten games, I’m very satisfied with that. The players are reliable and we are able to adapt our playing style in difficult games. Today we were not so fresh that we could always be good in the pressing. Today we had to walk too much because I think we made some mistakes in positioning. But it’s a good sign that we defended well around our own penalty area. Normally we can keep the opponent far away, but today we managed to not always. We won a difficult game against a strong opponent, so I’m happy.”