He only arrived from Brentford 12 months ago but already Garry Monk is ready to let Tounami Diagouraga leave.
After just a year at Elland Road, Leeds United are ready to cut ties with Tounami Diagouraga.
According to the Sheffield Star, cut-adrift basement dwellers Rotherham United are hoping to tie up a deal by the end of the week after manager Paul Warne admitted that he wanted more ‘pace and power’ in his midfield.
The 6ft 2ins Diagouraga possesses both attributes in abundance.
And there’s a distinct positive about the fact that Leeds can afford to sanction the departure of an experienced Championship midfielder, halfway through the season no less, with minimal risk.
The 29-year-old started 13 league fixtures in the second half of the previous campaign after arriving from Brentford in January but, since Garry Monk took over in the summer, he has only featured once. And that was in the 3-0 opening day defeat to QPR.
And it’s testament to Leeds’ gradual development that a player deemed a key figure in Steve Evans’ 13th placed side is not even considered good enough for the bench under the new regime.
Thanks to the development of Ronaldo Vieira and Kalvin Phillips, the promising displays of Liam Bridcutt and Eunan O’Kane, a player of Diagouraga’s stature and natural physical attributes is no longer required.
He is, at best, a mid-table Championship player and, under Monk, Leeds are no longer a mid-table Championship club.
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