At 18, the Moroccan keeper takes a first big step
Reims are still looking ahead. The Ligue 2 club have handed Chouaib Bellaarouch, a highly rated 18-year-old Moroccan goalkeeper from the prestigious Mohammed VI Academy, his first professional deal. It is no accident. Behind the big frame is a record that already stands out, with a continental title and a U17 World Cup run that have quickly put him on the radar.
Bellaarouch has signed for one season, with three more years as an option. For now, he will join Reims’ elite group. The plan is simple enough: keep his development moving without rushing him, while gradually opening the door to the first team.
For a keeper this young, the set-up is ideal. At Reims, Bellaarouch can work in a proper structure and edge closer to senior football. Training with the first team is already on the table. The rest will be down to him.
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A path that is already drawing Bounou comparisons
Back in Morocco, his name is starting to travel fast. Some observers are already tipping him as a possible heir to Yassine Bounou, the gold standard in goal for the Atlas Lions. It is a flattering comparison, naturally, but it also shows the level of expectation now following Bellaarouch around.
The youngster is not arriving in Champagne with nothing on his CV. In 2025, he was part of the Morocco side that won the U17 Africa Cup of Nations. In the final, Morocco beat Seydou Dembelé’s Mali. That detail carries extra weight now, given that the young Malian has also joined Reims.
A few months later, Bellaarouch was also involved in Morocco’s U17 World Cup run. The Moroccans reached the quarter-finals, underlining a particularly ambitious generation. For an 18-year-old keeper, getting that much international experience so early is a serious asset.
Reims keep betting on youth
This move fits the way Reims have been operating. The club want to develop young players who can eventually hold down a place at the top level. Bellaarouch fits that model perfectly: still raw, but already shaped by a renowned academy and by youth internationals.
The deal could easily have gone another way. Reims had initially targeted Noe Le Page to strengthen their goalkeeping ranks. But the youngster ended up training with Rennes, and the Brittany club were not keen to let him go.
So Reims went in another direction. And they may not have lost much, if anything. With Bellaarouch, they have brought in a keeper who already knows what pressure feels like, has rare international experience for his age, and still has plenty of room to improve.
The hard part comes now: turning promise into proof. Football is full of youngsters billed as the next big thing. Bellaarouch has taken the first step. At Reims, he now has to show that the future being talked up for him might actually be real.
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