There have been brilliant talents who have passed through at Liverpool but never achieved their full potential. Oussama Assaidi was perhaps the most skilful of them all.
Assaidi won’t go down in history for his achievements with Liverpool, nor will he even be remembered by supporters who saw him play.
However, those who were his teammates remember him as one of the most skilful they ever played with.
Andre Wisdom saw the Moroccan’s Liverpool career play out in real time and has named him as one of the players he wished had fulfilled his potential.
BERNE, SWITZERLAND - Thursday, September 20, 2012: Liverpool's Oussama Assaidi in action against BSC Young Boys during the UEFA Europa League Group A match at the Wankdorf Stadion. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Asked on The Full Hit podcast who was the best player he played with who never reached their potential, Wisdom replied: “Assaidi.
“Honestly, I’ve never seen skills like Oussama Assaidi. To this day I even reference him, and he’s had a good career obviously but he should have gone way higher.”
The career Wisdom refers to saw the left-winger join Liverpool from Dutch outfit Heerenveen in 2012 for £1.5 million as a 24-year-old.
Oussama Assaidi: Career Stats by Club
Club Apps Goals Assists
FC Omniworld 37 3 1
De Graafschap 22 7 2
Heerenveen 93 22 25
Liverpool 12 0 1
Stoke City 36 5 4
Al-Ahli (UAE) 28 3 2
FC Twente 45 9 4
* Data sourced from Transfermarkt
However, he would go on to play just 12 times for Liverpool, six of them starts, as he struggled in Brendan Rodgers’ first season on Merseyside.
After a year and a half at Anfield, he signed on loan, where he spent 18 months, scoring four goals in 19 Premier League games.
His time away hadn’t been enough to convince the Reds that he would ever come to realise his ability, so he was sold to Dubai club Al Ahli for £4.75m in January 2015.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, January 26, 2014: Stoke City's Oussama Assaidi in action against Chelsea during the FA Cup 4th Round match at Stamford Bridge. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Wisdom was asked why some players never reach their potential, to which he responded: “I’m not sure. It’s hard to speak for them, but I think there are a few factors that may come into it.
“Maybe mentality and sometimes the pressure of doing the same thing every week. Maybe in the good moments it’s great, but in the low moments, they might fall too low and maybe not be able to replicate what they know they can…
“I’m not even sure what the science is behind that, why there are some players that don’t quite reach their full potential. It’s sad to see.
“It’s more the training. You train with these guys every day and then when it comes to Saturday, he’s not quite the same player. It’s like, ‘What’s going on?’
“People, they always try to look for reasons.”
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 15, 2012: Liverpool's Oussama Assaidi before the Premiership match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. (Pic by Vegard Grott/Propaganda)
Assaidi felt he didn’t get the opportunities he deserved at Liverpool, later saying: “To be honest, I never got a fair chance at Liverpool.
“If you look at the games I played, I don’t think I did that bad.”
Perhaps he was never given a proper chance at Liverpool, but the fact that he spent the remainder of his career at FC Twente, after a year in the Middle East, and retired at 20 years old, suggests Rodgers was right on this one.