According to Stoke Sentinel, Stoke City midfielder Badou Ndiaye has been linked with a permanent move back to Galatasaray, having spent the entirety of the previous campaign on loan with the Turkish giants.
The 29-year-old, who came through the door at the Bet365 Stadium in January 2018 for a fee of £14million from Galatasaray, was shipped out on loan to his former club last summer following the Potters’ relegation from the Premier League.
Having played a key role in Galatasaray’s Super Lig and Turkish Cup triumphs last season, Ndiaye looked set for a permanent exit from Stoke City throughout the summer, but he was successfully reinstated in the first-team fold by manager Nathan Jones after a move failed to materialize. (h/t Stoke Sentinel)
Despite Stoke’s woeful start to the campaign, Ndiaye repaid Jones’ faith in his abilities with a string of impressive displays early in the season and established himself as a regular fixture in the playing eleven, making a total of nine starts.
The Senegalese international was instrumental in his nation’s march to the final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt earlier in the summer. Michael O’Neill has taken over at Stoke and it remains to be how Badou Ndiaye is handled by the new man in charge.
The defensive midfielder is one of the high-profile names in the Potters’ squad at the moment but it will be intriguing to see whether or not he fits into the new manager’s plans moving forward, given that O’Neill is likely to have his work cut out in steering the club to safety in the Championship.
Now, as per the report, Galatasaray are keen to bring Badou Ndiaye back in January.
To put things into perspective, Ndiaye has a contract at Stoke City until 2022 but the Potters should not hesitate to get the Senegalese star off their books in January if the opportunity presents itself.
Meagre returns of just 13 goals in 15 games clearly epitomise the need for attacking reinforcements in January to help the club in their bid for survival and offloading Ndiaye would certainly go a long way towards freeing up significant funds for reinvestment.
In James McLean, Peter Etebo, Sam Clucas and Joe Allen, Stoke have some quality midfielders, and although Ndiaye boasts of a good CV and offers a lot of steel in the midfield, cashing in on him in January would certainly help the Potters in their rebuilding job.
To that end, the sensible thing for the Potters would be to entertain Galatasaray’s approach in January and try to recoup a sizable portion of the money that they had spent to bring him to the club last year.
Looking at things from the player’s perspective, Ndiaye is still very much in his prime and playing for silverware should be in the best interests of his career, which is in complete contrast to his current role at relegation-threatened Stoke City.
Also, the lure of European football at Galatasaray should make a move to Turkey an appealing prospect for the 29-year-old.
With that in mind, Stoke City parting ways with Badou Ndiaye in January looks like a fair settlement and one that could possibly work wonders for both parties.
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