Franck Haise warns Aït Boudlal: “Either he learns quickly…”

Despite Stade Rennais’ victory against Le Mans (3-2), Franck Haise did not spare Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal after the match. Starting in central defense alongside Charlie Cresswell, the Moroccan international played the entire match in the second round of Ligue 1. He was also cautioned in stoppage time.

In the press conference, the Rennes coach directly called out his young defender regarding the first goal by Louis Mafouta, scored in the 30th minute. “Either he learns quickly, or we change him because there is competition for every position,” Franck Haise stated. The coach felt that Aït Boudlal was at fault for the entire play and reminded that he had already criticized him for a mistake the previous week against Paris Saint-Germain.

The criticism was therefore aimed at the first goal by Le Mans and not the penalty that allowed Louis Mafouta to equalize at 2-2 in the 54th minute. That penalty was awarded after a handball by Przemysław Frankowski. Rennes ultimately snatched the victory thanks to a penalty converted by Estéban Lepaul in the 96th minute.

This public warning comes a few weeks after Franck Haise assured that Rennes was counting on Aït Boudlal, despite interest from Fulham. It does not necessarily indicate a desire to part ways with the Moroccan, but it confirms that his starting position could be questioned if he does not quickly gain consistency and reliability.