Why Fousseni Diabate should be given a second chance at Leicester City

Despite being outcast during Claude Puel’s tenure, Fousseni Diabate may provide the spark that is so desperately needed out wide for Leicester City with Brendan Rodgers in charge.

Fousseni Diabate was plucked out of the French second tier just over a year ago by Leicester City for an estimated fee of €3 million. City fans had no reason to doubt their club’s track record of recruits from Ligue 2. It was the same league that had given them the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Anthony Knockaert.

Understandably, the announcement of Diabate, a relative unknown at that point, was greeted with cautious optimism by Leicester’s faithful. Such optimism was rewarded almost instantly, as the winger bagged a brace in his debut against Peterborough in the FA Cup, before teeing up Wilfred N’Didi for City’s fifth on the day. It was the perfect start to Diabate’s career in England.

However, this scintillating performance didn’t quite translate to the Premier League. In 14 league appearances during the back-end of the 2017/18 season, the Malian only managed one assist. This season began with even less success for the 23-year-old, who appeared just three times for the first team, before being shipped off on loan to Sivasspor in Turkey.

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Although his stats were less than impressive, they don’t tell the full story of Diabate’s first 12 months at Leicester. There were certain games, particularly a 3-1 home victory against Arsenal, that the saw the Malian shine, including a beautifully cushioned assist for Kelechi Iheanacho to volley home. He is a direct and exciting player, with plenty of tricks in his locker.

Furthermore, while on-loan at Sivasspor, there have been glimpses of Diabate’s full potential. On average, he completes 2.3 dribbles per game and 1.1 key passes. Comparatively, Demarai Gray only completes 1.3 dribbles and 0.5 key passes per game, albeit against higher calibre defenders, stats via WhoScored.

Overall, if Leicester City had persevered with Diabate as much as they have done with Gray, they could potentially have a top quality winger on their hands. It is unclear what Brendan Rodgers’ plans regarding Diabate are, but this writer believes that he deserves a place in the squad as much as any other City winger, with the possible exception of Harvey Barnes.