Adel Taarabt’s mentality was the only thing that stopped him from becoming a top player with Tottenham Hotspur.
That’s according to Spurs legend Les Ferdinand, QPR’s current director of football, who worked with the midfielder as a coach during his time at the club.
Taarabt was hotly tipped to be one of the stars of the future during his early days at Tottenham, having joined the club from Lens in a £3.6m deal in 2007.
Despite rave reviews from coaches and fellow teammates alike, he would fail to live up to his talent at White Hart Lane, though, going on to make just 15 appearances in all competitions for the club.
He, instead, enjoyed success elsewhere in London, shining for Queens Park Rangers, where he was the star of the show, making 164 appearances in total, scoring 34 goals and 42 assists and almost single-handedly taking them back to the Premier League in 2012.
That success soon petered out, though, with Taarabt struggling to replicate that form at any of his new clubs since, barring his latest, Benfica, where he appears to have reinvented himself.
Overall, however, he has very much failed to live up to the potential he once showed, something Ferdinand believes was a mentality issue.
“The reasons why Adel never reached higher levels? The only thing that can hold back a talented player is the mentality,” he told Pianeta Milan.
“Without that, everything becomes more difficult.
“I coached Taarabt when I was coaching Tottenham forwards, and I can say he was incredibly talented.
“It was he alone who brought the QPR to the Premier League in 2011/2012, but you can have all the talent in the world; if you don’t have the right mentality, you won’t go anywhere.”
