Feghouli dropped by Algeria with West Ham exit mooted

Sofiane Feghouli is free to negotiate a January exit from West Ham having been left out of Algeria’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Feghouli has failed to make a Premier League start since joining on a free transfer from Valencia ahead of the 2016-17 season, with Marseille reportedly looking to take the winger to Ligue 1.

The 27-year-old has scored 11 goals in 42 international caps, and was expected to be in George Leekens’ squad for the tournament in Gabon.

However, it seems that Leekens has been dissuaded by Feghouli’s lack of game time, which could push the player further towards the exit door at London Stadium.

Another surprise exclusion from the Algeria squad is Carl Medjani, who has also found games hard to come by this term.

The experienced defender captained Algeria throughout 2016, but he has only played once for Leganes in LaLiga since October and Leekens has seen fit to omit him.

Algeria’s 23-man squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Rais M’Bohli (Club Africain), Malik Asselah (JS Kabylie), Chemseddine Rahmani (MO Bejaia).

Defenders: Mokhtar Belkhiter (Club Africain), Mohamed Rabie Meftah (USM Alger), Aissa Mandi (Real Betis), Hicham Belkaroui (Esperance), Liassine Cadamuro (Servette), Mohamed Benyahia (USM Alger), Ramy Bensebaini (Rennes), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli), Djamel Mesbah (Crotone).

Midfielders: Adlene Guedioura (Watford), Saphir Taider (Bologna), Nabil Bentaleb (Schalke), Mehdi Abeid (Dijon), Yacine Brahimi (Porto), Rachid Ghezzal (Lyon).

Forwards: Islam Slimani (Leicester City), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), Hilal Soudani El Arabi (Dinamo Zagreb), Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd), Sofiane Hanni (Anderlecht).