Toumani Diagouraga’s spell at Leeds United has come to an end, for now.
Leeds United midfielder Toumani Diagouraga has left the club on loan to sign with Ipswich Town until the end of the season, The BBC reported.
It was 12 months ago that he signed with the Whites from Brentford, becoming the only player Steve Evans signed for the club on a permanent basis, with his other deals on loans.
Evans left the club in the summer when Massimo Cellino decided not to extend the manager’s contract, and that was the beginning of the end for Diagouraga at Leeds.
Leeds United’s Toumani Diagouraga comes on as a substitute
New boss Garry Monk started him in the first game of the season, but promptly dropped him after a 3-0 loss, and after that the midfielder was consigned to the under-23 squad.
A look back at Evans’ quotes a year ago suggest that the Scotsman may have been a little too keen to over hype the
Evans was quoted by STV stating: “He was up there with my top targets. We’ve got a boy who’s 6 foot 2, we’ve got a Patrick Vieira-type player. He brings real quality to our midfield.”
Leeds’ Toumani Diagouraga in action with Birmingham’s David Davis
Diagouraga’s performances for Leeds were with all due respect, nothing like Patrick Vieira. They weren’t terrible, but he was certainly not the box to box player the Arsenal captain once was, capable of changing every game in which he played.
He ended his Leeds spell with two goals and no assists in 18 Championship games played for the club.
It was perhaps a cruel irony that Diagouraga’s banishment from the Leeds set up under Monk has been due in part to the arrival of another Vieira, rising talent Ronaldo Vieira.
Evans handed Ronaldo Vieira his debut in his final game of the season in 2015/16. His dynamic performances already look closer to his namesake than Diagouraga’s.
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