Why Mouctar Diakhaby would be a good fit for Nuno’s Wolves

According to a report from Football Espana, Wolves were interested in signing Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby in the summer, but the La Liga club rejected an approach.

Mouctar Diakhaby, 22, joined Valencia from Lyon last summer and impressed in his debut season, making 38 appearances across all competitions. He was a pillar at the back for Los Che, who finished fourth in the La Liga last season and subsequently qualified for the Champions League.

As far as Wolves are concerned, they finished in the seventh spot last season, with the likes of Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez and Joao Moutinho proving themselves more than adept to Premier League football.

Nuno Espirito Santo added only a handful of new players to his squad over the summer to compete on different fronts.

However, things haven’t gone according to the plan for Nuno, whose side are still winless in the Premier League.

Wolves’ rich success was built last season due to their strong backline that consisted of Conor Coady, Willy Boly and Ryan Bennett. Nuno’s back-three system worked wonders, making it very difficult for teams to penetrate through the defence and score goals.

But the Wanderers are struggling to stem the flow of goals this time around, with none of Coady, Boly or Bennett delivering consistent performances.

After impressing in the Europa League qualifiers, on-loan defender from Real Madrid, Jesus Vallejo was handed a start against Chelsea but the Spaniard showed he’s nowhere near ready for the Premier League.

Clearly, Wolves need more quality and depth in their squad and Nuno would be wise to rekindle his interest in Diakhaby when the January transfer window starts.

A calm and composed figure in possession, Diakhaby is a commanding presence that is strong in the air. He is a very good tackler, reads the game very well and has got a decent turn of pace too.

The defender, who is of Guinean descent, is powerful and his aerial ability makes him a threat in the opposition box during set-pieces.

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The 22-year-old did really well in both the Champions League and Europa League for Valencia, developing into one of Europe’s top defensive prospects. Diakhaby has already shown enough maturity and should keep getting better.

Not only would the Frenchman add quality to Wolves’ defensive ranks but also bring competition for the likes of Coady, Boly, Bennett and Vallejo.

Verdict

Thus, Wolves should go all out to sign Diakhaby in January as the French defender could turn out to be a shrewd signing for the Midlanders.