Everton 'interested' in Strasbourg midfielder

Anyone got the lowdown on this player?

Well Rob, according to Wiki:

"He is regarded as one of the best young players in Europe, who grew up admiring Tim Cahill and often dreams of playing for Sean Dyche."

Looks like the lids have been editing Wiki again!

Rob 125 — very highly rated.

Chelsea and Juve were linked with him last summer. Can play central and right wing by the clips.

Senegal international — Gueye do your stuff.

Ian, I responded to what I now believe to have been a sarcastic post on the Lindstrøm thread. You obviously do your research and can pick some proper players from a list. I apologize for my outburst.

Found an article from a year ago. Don't know how credible the writer is, but he has certainly seen the kid play:

Aston Villa and Wolves are the latest teams to have their names added to the list of suitors — a list which supposedly includes both Leeds United, Leicester City, Spurs, West Ham United, Crystal Palace and both Manchester clubs. And that's just the English clubs who are keen, although Diarra has said publicly that he “dreams” of the Premier League. There is set to be a serious bidding war for Diarra's services this summer, and whoever wins the race will have landed a very promising young player indeed.

Born in Senegal in 2004, he moved to France at a young age and has represented his adopted homeland at Under-16 and Under-19 level, breaking into the Strasbourg first team in 2022 during a campaign in which they finish sixth in Ligue 1, well above all expectations. This season has been tougher for his team — they sit not so far above the drop zone — but it's been a strong personal campaign for Diarra, who has firmly established himself in the first team and gradually built up that lengthy list of admirers.

A versatile midfielder, Diarra has mostly played for Strasbourg as either a right-sided midfielder or a creative central player — but he's also played on the left and as a deep-lying playmaker as well. He doesn't push too far up the field, preferring to receive the ball in midfield and carry it forward from there rather than looking to get in behind defenders.

He's a fine dribbler with excellent close control and an easy, graceful running style that's easy on the eye and helps keep defenders off him as he advances — but he's not freakishly fast, which may explain why he likes to take the ball from deep positions. He's also a strong mid-range passer and spreads play quickly and effectively when he's playing in the centre of the park, and a wonderful crosser of the ball when he plays wide.

Physically, he's strong and has a great centre of gravity, but isn't especially imposing at 5'10” and can't be regarded as any kind of midfield destroyer — he doesn't tend to press ferociously and while he's decent enough in the tackle, he doesn't turn the ball over too much. He's a player you can give the ball to and expect something from, not someone who gets hold of the ball himself too often.

He's also not a prolific goalscorer, and while that long bomb against Troyes suggested a previously hidden talent, it was his first senior goal scored from outside the box — but having not scored for Strasbourg before April this year, he's since hit three goals in six games, so he may be learning to add a greater goal threat to his game as well.

He'll also need to develop his game awareness to cut it at the very top level — he has a habit of not scanning well enough when he picks up the ball and can give it away softly by failing to spot an opponent who can take it off him or cut out a pass. His short-range passing stats are somewhat concerning for a midfielder, and he gives the ball away with short passes almost one time in five. He's only 19, so a propensity towards cheap giveaways is understandable, but should serve as a warning that he is far from the finished article as it stands.

The finished article could be something special, though — he carries the ball supremely well, has an eye for a defence-splitting pass and could be a superb link-up player between midfield and attack, especially if he starts scoring on a consistent basis. It's easier to imagine him remaining in the centre of the field rather than playing on a right, simply because his preferred deep starting positions sit awkwardly with modern tactical orthodoxy, but with the right coaching he could end up being a hugely versatile player as well, one who can effectively cover multiple positions for a club.

It's hard to say who will win the race for Habib's signature at this stage — with so many sharks circling, a clear frontrunner is hard to discern — but he could be quite the player if he gets the right environment to work in, and gets the right advice to cover his current flaws. He's wonderful to watch, and we can't wait to find out where he winds up.

He's also a strong mid-range passer and spreads play quickly and effectively.

He doesn't turn the ball over too much. He's a player you can give the ball to and expect something from

He has a habit of not scanning well enough when he picks up the ball and can give it away softly by failing to spot an opponent who can take it off him or cut out a pass.

Doesn't that third sentence contradict the other two? And then there's this:

His short-range passing stats are somewhat concerning for a midfielder, and he gives the ball away with short passes almost one time in five.

So at least he won't be titting around with possession passing to the defence.

Definitely passes the YouTube eye test — that's all that matters!

Oh dear. I'm starting to believe again. I wasn't expecting O'Brien to pick Everton but there he is in town ready for his medical.

A new winger and young central midfielder on board too, and now an attacking midfielder with an eye for a defense-splitting pass no less. And he's only 20 too.

Can we seriously believe that we really have an intelligent strategy in place and taking shape? O'Brien is clearly on board in order to facilitate the exit of Keane, Holgate or both. I can't cope!!

Keep believing, Paul. Never stop believing.

Our day will come again.

Once they're on the pitch in the Royal Blue shirt, I don't care who they are. As a youngster, I had my idols as I'm sure the young supporters do now.

In my ageing years, I just want them to play with passion and desire for Everton. Just as I did at my own level.

Good player but might be a strange fit for Dyche as he's not hugely combative and one of his best assets seems to be carrying the ball, which Dyche doesn't want much from his midfielders.

This one sounds like rumour-mongering to me but let's see.

I'm not saying he's the solution, Sam, as I don't get carried away with rumours. But we need a player in midfield who is comfortable on the ball. Our midfield has be wide open or dare I say absent for the past couple of seasons.

I suppose we have to trust the manager and Thelwell.

It depends how deep you want to look at that report Eric!

If he has already made his decision and plays quick, he seems fine, but it sounds like he needs to sharpen up his shorter game, which is often down to concentration with younger players.

Football isn't a difficult sport, and anyone who plays the game will usually do certain things better than they do other things, but the secret is putting everything together and this is when the game becomes a lot more difficult.

If he has played a lot of his football in France, then my own personal opinion is that the French do physicality better than most, and this is probably the main requirement nowadays for anyone trying to forge a career in the EPL.

Sam says, he his not the most combative of players, which maybe contradicts what I'm saying about players growing up in France, and another contradiction could be what Sam says about Dyche, because I think if he gets more talented players, I'm certain he would give them a bit of cart-blanch, just as long as they worked hard for the team?

Good player but IMO not what we need. We need an Onana replacement, someone who can play 8 or 6 if required. We are well stocked out wide and in the 10 position.

My personal preference would be Frendrup of Genoa (mates with our Jobbe) and the future of Danish football. Alternatively Lavia of Chelsea.

I suspect we will get the 'chubster' Phillips loan though, maybe with an option to buy. How many loans are we allowed anyway?

The more I consider Philips - age, lack of playing time, fitness, wages, the least likely I am to offer him a deal, even on loan. 15-20 games whilst catching up on his match fitness is no good for us. He was a good player but had always had injury issues - they only get worse, not better.

If he was the only one, maybe, but we're carrying Calvert-Lewin, who is always a game away from a season out, and potentially Dele Alli. We need robust players like Tarkowski who never seems injured for league games.

I'm filing this one away with the other chip wrappers. If there are so many clubs after him, we will get priced out of a deal.

He also is not playing in a position where we now have a priority to spend, unless there is going to be money coming in from a big name departure. (Ee have signed players who can play midfield or in the No 10 role, allowing Doucoure to drop deeper.)

For the 2 central midfielders, we have Gueye, Garner, Doucouré, Iroegbunam, and Young.

If a player of this age and ability was to be available in the £10-15m bracket we would be in the market. But his club don't want to sell and he has a lot of admirers.

Cover at full-back. Sell nobody else (except the usual suspects). Our recruitment this summer looks to have been spot on.

Yet another silly season rumour from the media.

This lad is allegedly one of the best young prospects in Europe and is under contract to Strasbourg until 2028, so they are under no pressure to sell him unless for silly money.

He would undoubtedly be a target for all top clubs in Europe so do you really see Everton winning a bidding war with them?

This is a non-starter. Next!!

Strasbourg seem to be a feeder club / affiliate club for Chelsea. They probably have first dibs — but, since they have about 60 midfielders, he may be available.

Seems a pretty unlikely purchase for us though.

Attacking midfielder (centre, left, right) according to whoscored.com

His versatility would certainly be useful, however unlikely this rumour is.

Meanwhile there are other fresh rumours linking us to Tammy Abraham and/or Arkadius Milik. It's like Xmas in July!

Vijay, good news if there is any vestige of truth in that. Being the Devil's Advocate though tells me to beware of 'rumours' until they become fact !

We've gone from almost being taken over by a billionaire to being regarded by some as unsellable. But despite our massive debts we're buying players and linked with many. It's as if our parlous state is irrelevant to our day to day trading. Maybe it is if we can keep the cash flow above water. I expect we'll see more sales this window, if the price is right.

Pat K, I kinda thought along those lines myself.

I think after falling foul of PSR and the other contrived restrictions directed at the few, those behind the scenes will have not gone 'Gung Ho', and risked the possibility of further penalties. I just hope we carry on getting in players, who may just be what we have historically missed!

As I mentioned on another thread, it takes precious time for these additions to 'gel' and success is never guaranteed, although we are due some luck, and things going right for once!

We are still in credit on player trading. As long as we are the right side of PSR limits and have the cashflow to see us through, we will be fine.

We've brought in £50M on Onana and £10M for Godfrey. We've spent on Ndiaye, O'Brien which are likely to be sums over the contract, plus some loans.

Overall I'd imagine the wage bill is reduced. Alli, Godfrey, and Gomes were earning far more than Obrien, Lindstrom, and Ndiaye.

Just hope we can shift Keane, Holgate, and Maupay to free up more cash.

Steve, 13, Iroegbunam is the Onana replacement. We're not going to get anyone else in that style.

Despite nearly everyone else looking poor last night, Iroegbunam did enough to suggest that swapping him for Onana and £41M might just be a sensible little bit of business.

I'm all for signing brilliant young French or Senegalese midfielders, but we need players in other positions quite desperately at the moment.