Bologna head coach Stefano Pioli has given suitors of his club’s rising star Saphir Taider a hands-off warning after proclaiming the 21-year-old Algerian is not for sale. Taider is believed to have garnered the interest of fellow Serie A side Inter in recent weeks, and while the player’s agent has played down the claims, he did however reveal that it English giants Manchester United are keeping tabs on his client. The revelation certainly made Taider’s future at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara all the more hazy, especially since Anfield outfit Liverpool have also sounded their interest in the youngster. Regardless of whether the interest is genuine or not, Pioli has already launched a pre-emptive strike on what could be a raid on his club’s hot prospect. "For me, he is not for sale", was Pioli’s stern warning to potential buyers out there when he talked with Italian daily Corriere di Bologna. "He is a player I consider to have a very technical part in my plans and to change that now would not be a good thing", the Bologna boss added. Taider’s statistics last season do show how important a player he is in Pioli’s tactical regime. Sure enough, the 21-year-old only missed four of Bologna’s 38 league games last season, two of them through injury and one through a yellow card suspension. Taider’s contract with Bologna is set to expire in 2015. (Inside Futbol)
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 10:27:50 +0000