Fulham manager Martin Jol has challenged Adel Taarabt to prove his doubters wrong and show he can cut it in the Premier League.
The Moroccan is currently on a season-long loan from QPR and has struggled to break into the Whites first team, making only four starts in all competitions.
Taarabt’s former manager at Rangers, Neil Warnock, said recently that he believes the 24-year-old’s best years in England are behind him.
And Jol said: “He is still young, so if his time is over [in England] then we’ve got a real problem.
“He’s one of the most gifted players you will ever see on the pitch. He is a Maradona-type talent, but he has to be a team player as well.
“When I took him people said ‘It’s impossible to play with all of the players you’ve got’.
“If things are not coming off for him then people could say he’s not a team player and that his time is over.
“But hopefully they’re not right. He has to prove to other people – not to me – that he is a team player.”
Under Warnock, Taarabt was the star of QPR’s promotion season in 2011 but has since struggled to make an impact in the top flight.
But Jol remains convinced the player can prove a point this season.
“Taarabt is a one off – you only see three or four players in Europe like him,” said Jol.
“I took Taarabt here and in his first game he scored against Burton but after that he was injured. He’s still fighting and doing extra sessions to get fit.”
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This post was last modified on 29/10/2013