Man Utd spy £20m Tottenham, Man City target who’s ready to play for world’s second best team
The name of Habib Diarra appears to be a new one to watch after a report revealed that Man Utd are one of nine Premier League clubs watching him.
Diarra has come through the ranks at Strasbourg, going on to make 27 appearances for the first team this season after four the term before. Having adapted to a number of different roles, the 19-year-old has been catching the eyes of Premier League scouts.
According to a report from The Sun, almost half of the Premier League are watching Diarra. The biggest clubs keeping tabs on him include Man Utd, Tottenham Hotspur and Premier League champions Man City.
Man Utd are in the market for another midfielder this summer, regardless of whether or not they keep Marcel Sabitzer after his loan spell from Bayern Munich.
After all, Scott McTominay might leave to earn more regular gametime elsewhere. Furthermore, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro are both 31 years old, so were only ever medium-term solutions.
Diarra would be one for the future, but given the amount of interest in him, suitors like Man Utd won’t be wanting to miss out to rivals.
The threat from their Manchester rivals City could be particularly concerning, although how much Pep Guardiola needs a player like Diarra would depend on what midfield role he would have in mind for him.
Tottenham, meanwhile, plucked a young talent from the French league when signing Pape Matar Sarr in 2021. Even though that move has been underwhelming, they might be looking towards the same market again.
Full list of Habib Diarra admirers revealed
The other six suitors for Diarra mentioned in the report are Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Leeds United, Leicester City, West Ham and Wolves.
Aston Villa are pushing for European qualification ahead of the final week of the season. Therefore, they will be looking for the next wave of talents who can help them grow their project further.
It seems likely that Leicester will be relegated to the Championship, though, while Leeds are in serious danger of the same fate. Whether they could compete for Diarra without Premier League status remains to be seen.
All nine of his suitors supposedly scouted him last week when he started as an attacking midfielder in a 2-0 win over Nice in Ligue 1. He should be under observation again during Strasbourg’s away match against Troyes this Saturday.
Whoever wants to win the race for Diarra will have to meet Strasbourg’s current asking price of £20m. After all, he is under contract with them until 2027.
As he visualises the next steps of his career, one thing seems to be clear. As reflected in the report, Diarra has decided to play for France at international level, despite being born in Senegal.
Indeed, Diarra has already featured for France at youth level. Should he make appropriate progress, he could be eyeing a role for the senior team, who are second in the FIFA rankings behind Argentina after their loss to Lionel Messi’s side in the World Cup final.
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