“The obvious next step is Ligue 1″, said Amine Boutrah (22) when speaking exclusively to SO FOOT back in April. Just three months later, the Franco-Moroccan attacker signed for Vitesse Arnhem, who finished 10th place in the previous Eredivisie edition.
Coming through the youth ranks of Corsica club SC Bastia, Boutrah had a slow start to his career, as he quickly transferred to Gallia Club Lucciana FC in the French fifth tier. He only got a move to US Concarneau in the Championnat National in 2021, when he was already 20 years old. There, he hit the ground running, bagging two and assisting four in his first season at the club, before blowing that promising performance out of the water in his second season, scoring 11 and handing out 8 assists.
Combining technical prowess and notable vision, Boutrah likes to receive the ball in deeper positions in order to run at opposition defences, or simply square players up to attract press and distribute to a partner in space. His best quality remains his thrilling acceleration, which allows him to make solo differences when running in on goal. These attributes make him a versatile asset as he is able to play anywhere in the attack.
An audacious career path which has yet to pay off
Off the back of that fantastic season, of which he was voted Player of the Season and that saw Concarneau obtain direct promotion as league champions, Amine attracted interest from several French clubs, including Ligue 1 sides Montpellier HSC and RC Strasbourg, according to rumours.
It was therefore to the general surprise that he opted to sign for Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem back in July. So far, it hasn’t been the start that he would’ve dreamt of. Starting only five of Vitesse’s 12 league games this season, the forward has struggled to find form in an overall weak Arnhem side, which has sunk to the bottom place of the league. The now 23-year-old hasn’t registered a single goal contribution, though he has come close, notably in the first matchday against FC Volendam, when he had hit the woodwork.
He’ll be looking to finally find form in the next league games, though the up-and-coming fixture against back-in-form Ajax may bring yet another negative result to Amine and his team.
