He's massively injury prone and has played less than 100 games in 6 or 7 years. I don't know the lad thats off the reports I have read about him.
83 games in 7 years? 12 games a season? Ok he must have only been a 19 year old when he joined Lazio but even so, that doesnt fill me with much enthusiam?
Found this about his injuries Season--------from---------to----------Injury 12/13------21.07.2012---05.11.2012- Shinbone injury 10/11------03.03.2011---22.05.2011- 10/11------31.01.2011 ---01.03.2011 - Unknown Injury Not bad really.
in the past, unless wes wants some company in the physio room/ perhaps he will just play in the finals or be our own john terry, just gets changed for the photos
Soccerbase "not played any games in season 2012-2013" Don't want to be a killjoy but not going to get over excited with this one.
http://www.rokerreport.com/2013/5/22/4352298/scouts-notebook-modibo-diakite We told you recently how Diakité had been linked with Sunderland in the Italian press and the North East press have claimed that now we are safe, we will step up our efforts to sign the defender. So what kind of player is Diakité and how would he fit into the Sunderland side? Before we get into his style of play, we'll tell you a bit more about him. Modibo Diakité is a French defender of Senegalese descent, who started his career with Italian side Pescara but only played one game for the Biancazzurri before he was snapped up by Lazio in a €300,000 transfer. Diakité then made sporadic appearances for Lazio between 2006 and 2009 until he started to establish himself in the 09/10 season. Despite missing most of 10/11 due to injury, Diakité was becoming a more important part of the Lazio side until a shin injury at the beginning of 12/13 season. When he returned from injury the defender was frozen out of Lazio's first team plans after turning down a new contract, at which point two of his cars were torched, seemingly by Lazio 'Ultras' angry at the defender for his contract dispute. With his contract almost up and Sunderland hoping to sign him on a Bosman transfer, it's time to look at the player's strengths and weaknesses. Diakité is an imposing physical presence, standing at 6'4" and weighing in at 13 stone, the defender would go a long way to solving one of Paolo Di Canio's problem areas. Di Canio said after the Southampton game; It is obvious that physically, any side that we faced under me, we are very small side compared to the others. They are incredible athletes compared with us. He reiterated his point after the last game of the season, away to Tottenham; We are very light in the middle and we need to add physical presence. Diakité's frame would certainly help Sunderland stand up to more physical opponents but that's not the only attribute that the defender has that is currently missing from the Sunderland squad. One of the biggest issues with this Sunderland side has been the lack of pace, an accusation that cannot be levelled at Diakité, who has pace in abundance. The centre-back is also noted as being a threat from set-pieces. Although he is the type of 'incredible athlete' that Di Canio would be looking for, his biggest attribute is his reading of the game. Which, when coupled with his pace, means he can bail his team out of trouble when a goal looks certain and allows his team to play higher up the pitch. Strong in one-on-ones and imposing in the air, he is the just the kind of central defender the Sunderland defence have been crying out for but there are downsides to Diakité's game. Although he will make the occasional lung-bursting run out of defence, à la Sol Campbell, Diakité is not at his best with the ball at his feet. Uncomfortable on the ball would be an overstatement but he won't be expected to spray passes about or to do anything more than playing the ball simply to the closest team-mate. The biggest downside to Diakité is his appearance record. We all know centre-backs tend to mature later than the other outfield positions but if we are successful in our pursuit of Diakité we will be signing a player who, at 26-years-old, only has 89 senior appearances, of which 65 came in Serie A. He did take some time establishing himself in the Lazio side, missed a large part of the 10/11 season with injury and has not been picked this season due to the aforementioned contract dispute but whatever the reason for his lack of games, it has to be a worry that a player in his mid-twenties has yet to break the 100 appearances mark. To sum up; Strengths: Imposing physical presence Abundance of pace Good in the air Reads the game well Weaknesses: Suspect on the ball. Lack of experience considering his age It looks as if Diakité would be a good signing, despite his weaknesses, and should be an upgrade on both Matt Kilgallon and Titus Bramble. The fact he is available on a Bosman transfer should be a big plus for Sunderland in a summer where a big turnover of the playing staff is expected.
He's a big guy at 6' 4''. Got to have something about him to have played for Lazio. As for signing unknowns, I couldn't give a toss if we sign a burly bruiser called Shirley Twinkletoes from the Red Lion in Torquay as long as he is good enough to play at PL level.
Why's everybody have to find something negative? He's class on another level to what we've got. His injury records not that bad, and he's still 26. Even better he was free!!
http://www.rokerreport.com/2013/5/30/4380330/report-diakite-agrees-deal-with-sunderland Modibo Diakité is a name that has been strongly linked with Sunderland for the last month. The defender was actually reported to have agreed a deal with the club at the beginning of May, although that was quickly denied by the player's agent. It appeared as if Inter Milan were in pole position to sign Diakité but it looks as if the Black Cats have pounced and clinched a deal for the highly sought after centre-back. Who had also been linked with a move to Everton, Liverpool and Napoli. According to Sky Sports News, the defender has agreed to sign for Sunderland, although they mention we have agreed a fee with Lazio, the player is out of contract with Lazio in June and is likely to have agreed a deal to sign for Sunderland on July 1st on a Bosman free transfer. He is the latest Bosman signing that is believed to have signed for Sunderland, following on from his compatriot and fellow central defender Valentin Roberge of Maritimo and Basle's defensive midfielder Cabral. Following on from the recent signing of Altrincham prospect Duncan Watmore and the imminent arrival of Roberto De Fanti and Valentino Angeloni as Director of Football and Technical Director respectively, Sunderland are well on the way to being a completely different side and set-up in time for their return to pre-season training. For more on Modibo Diakité, check out our recent Scout's Notebook on the central defender.
