Mounir El Hamdaoui on trial at FC Twente

Geraldo of Angola evades challenge from Mounir El Hamdaoui of Morocco during the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Finals football match between Angola and Morocco at The National Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa on 19 January 2013 ©Chris Ricco/Backpagepix

by Graeme Jackson

Thursday Jan 04, 2018. 11:00

Former Morocco international Mounir El Hamdaoui has gone on trial at Dutch Eredivisie club FC Twente in the hope of earning a contract.

The 33-year-old has been a free agent since early 2017 when he left Saudi Arabian club Al-Taawoun, and he had been training at former club AZ Alkmaar.

El Hamdaoui began his trial with Twente on Wednesday and is hoping to seal a return to the Dutch top flight.

He last played in the Eredivisie with AZ in the 2015/16 season. He famously helped the ‘Cheeseheads’ win the championship in 2008/09, when he was both the league’s top scorer and player of the season.

The Moroccan has also played for Excelsior, Willem II and Ajax in the Netherlands, while his club career has also taken him to England, Italy, Spain and the Middle East.

El Hamdaoui had a relatively unsuccessful international career with the Atlas Lions, though he was a part of their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations squad.