Three years ago, Leicester City shocked the world of football by winning the
Premier League title. Nobody in their wildest dreams expected them to win it with odds as thin as 5000/1. Under the supervision of Italian manager Claudio Ranieri, the Foxes were crowned the champions of England with Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante acting as some of their star performers that season. Kante left the club after that season to join Chelsea, where he again won the Premier League title under another Italian, Antonio Conte. He was named as the PFA Player of the Year that season. Kante also went on to win the World Cup with France last year.
Player Profile: Diadie Samassekou
Following in the Footsteps
Ranieri signed Kante for just €8 million from Caen in 2015. Now following in his footsteps is Mali international Diadie Samassekou. The 23-year-old defensive midfielder plays for Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and has been one of their standout performers this season. The Salzburg midfielder has impressed a lot in the Europa League this season. He has averaged a whopping 3.6 tackles and interceptions per game in the Europa League this season. This has caught the eye of AS Roma and AC Milan, who have registered interest in the player.
The 23-year-old is a machine, just like Kante. He has extraordinary stamina and work rate. His style of play is very much similar to the World Cup-winning Frenchman. He relentlessly follows the ball and makes it very difficult for the opposition attackers to move past him. The Mali international is not the tallest player but he still has very impressive aerially. .
Perfect for Tottenham Hotspur?
Premier League clubs should be looking to invest in this player as he will be available for a cheap price and will offer a lot of quality, especially Tottenham Hotspur, who already sold arguably their best defensive midfielder, Moussa Dembele. Pochettino needs a midfield enforcer for his team and Diadie ticks all the boxes. He can complement Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli well in the Spurs midfield. The defensive midfielder can provide with the much-needed energy which is seen lacking in the Spurs team today. He is a consistent performer and seems ready for a big leap to the Premier League.
Liverpool duo Naby Keita and Sadio Mane have their roots back in Salzburg with this team. Lately, the club has produced a lot of talented players. No doubt, Diadie is one of them. The Malian has got the talent, skill and potential to fight Kante for the ‘best defensive midfielder in the world’ title. He will be a bargain for any Premier League club.
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