Player Profile

The former France Under-21 captain received clearance from Fifa to play for Algeria at the World Cup. The central defender was uncapped at the time of his call-up for the tournament in South Africa.

Medjani’s career has stagnated since he joined Liverpool as a sought-after teenager. Several leading European clubs were reportedly interested in the player when he was plucked from the Saint Etienne youth set-up by Liverpool in 2003. He left three years later, having failed to make a first-team appearance.

While contracted to Liverpool, he spent season-long loans at Second Division Lorient and then top-flight Metz, before rejoining promoted Lorient on a permanent basis in 2006. A year later he was on the move again, to Second Division Ajaccio, where he has made 97 league appearances in three seasons.

Lyon-born Medjani, whose father is Algerian, should have no problem integrating with his new international team-mates: He played alongside Yazid Mansouri and Karim Ziani at Lorient, and with Djamel Abdoun for the France youth team.