£11 million man Ibrahima Diallo could make his first Premier League start in Southampton’s Boxing Day clash with Fulham, Ralph Hasenhuttl has told the Saints’ website.
Thanks to the supreme performances of Oriol Romeu, the former Brest captain has been forced to wait for a chance at St Mary’s this season.
But, with Romeu picking up his fifth booking of the season in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, Diallo has a gift-wrapped opportunity to belatedly establish himself as a key player at St Mary’s.
The France U21 international has played just 22 minutes of league football since moving across the Channel.
But, according to Hasenhuttl, Diallo could feature from the start for the first time at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
“Now Ibrahima gets the chance to play and it’s good that we have him,” said the former RB Leipzig boss.
Diallo’s energy and industry could come in handy against a Fulham side boasting plenty of speed and ambition in the final third, with Ademola Lookman in fine form during the past few weeks.
The elegant Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa has also been a valuable source of creativity for Scott Parker this season and it will be Diallo’s task to stop the Cameroonian in full flow.
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