Adel Taarabt is not interested in a transfer from Queens Park Rangers but has told manager Harry Redknapp he will play for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations next month if asked.
Taarabt has been linked with a move to Manchester United and Arsenal next month but the 23-year-old is happy at Loftus Road.
Redknapp sold Taarabt to QPR just under three years ago when he was Tottenham manager but he sees the attacking midfielder as key to the Loftus Road club’s hopes of escaping relegation.
Taarabt has already taken his game to another level since Redknapp replaced Mark Hughes last month. He scored twice in QPR’s first League win of the season, against Fulham, on Saturday.
And Taarabt is adamant he loves playing for Redknapp and is not looking to quit the club. He said: “I see all the clubs linked with my name but I’ve just signed for four years at QPR.
“I don’t know what would happen if someone offered £20million but I love the club and the fans. And they love me too.
“He [Redknapp] is a peerless motivator. You believe you are the best player in the world when he talks to you.
“Before matches he is very strong. When you go on the pitch you fear nothing. At the end of the match against Fulham, he came to me to say, ‘I told you that you were as good as [Dimitar] Berbatov’.”
Redknapp hoped he could convince Taarabt to snub international duty next month in order to be available for key games as QPR try to climb to safety.
Taarabt, who has been ignored by Morocco in recent months, could be missing for up to four weeks if he is picked to play in the tournament in South Africa.
But Taarabt (above) has told Redknapp he will go if he is selected in new coach Rachid Taoussi’s squad.
He added: “I will do everything I can to prove to him [Taoussi] that I deserve to be there. He [Redknapp] came to see me to ask me not to go but I told him, ‘If they call me, I can’t refuse, boss. I love my country, I love the Moroccan people and football means a lot to them’.
“I warned him that the only solution was that the coach doesn’t call me up.
“I hope to be there but even if I’m not there — and that would be painful — I will be the biggest Morocco supporter.”
