Southampton will be hoping Fousseni Diabate could adapt better to English football than Bournemouth’s former Ligue 2 star Lys Mousset
Southampton’s continues struggles in front of goal this season have them searching far and wide for solutions – including in France’s second tier.
Le 10 Sport claims that The Saints are keeping a close eye on Gazelec Ajaccio’s Fousseni Diabate, a 22-year-old forward who is currently playing his first season of senior football after moving from Guingamp’s B team in the summer.
Diabate has only scored three times in 14 Ligue 2 games, hardly suggesting he is the man to add extra quality to Southampton’s misfiring attack. But the Malian attacker has also played on the wing for Ajaccio this season and would provide versatility and options for Mauricio Pellegrino.
Diabate has not yet represented Mali at international level but has featured for the nation’s youth sides and featured at the Toulon tournament in the summer.
And the report claims that he is also on the radar of French first division side Rennes as well as Bundesliga giants Wolfsburg.
A number of players have moved from France’s second tier to England in recent years with Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez and West Ham striker Diafra Sakho possibly the pick of the bunch.
Southampton’s South Coast rivals Bournemouth, however, are yet to see the best of Lys Mousset, the France Under-21 star who netted 14 times for Le Havre in 2015/16. The 21-year-old is yet to open his account after 17 games in the Premier League, however.
The Saints will be hoping Diabate is more Mahrez than Mousset.
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