Scottish Premiership champions Celtic are reportedly rivalling Premier League duo Leicester City and Newcastle United for Le Mans’ Stephane Diarra.
Le Mans’ Coupe de la Ligue glamour clash against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night is the sort of opportunity Stephane Diarra has been dreaming of.
The fleet-footed winger has enjoyed an eye-catching breakthrough season in Ligue 2 to spark speculation about a potential big-money move to Britain in the New Year.
So a round-of-16 fixture against the dominant force of French football represents a golden chance for Diarra to show everyone that he is ready to make the step up in his career. The prospect of pitting his wits against a childhood idol merely adds another incentive.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I looked up to Neymar when I was little,” the one-time Rennes youngster told France Bleu. “But when I see him for real, I’m not going to look at him like a spectator, with wide eyes.”
Imagine for a second that Le Mans cause a massive shock in midweek and knock Thomas Tuchel’s side out of the competition with Diarra outshining a Brazilian superstar in the process.
A breakthrough performance against PSG’s star-studded squad of superstars would do the 21-year-old’s chances of a life-changing transfer no harm at all. L’Equipe reports that Celtic, Newcastle United and Leicester City have all been keeping tabs on a forward whose blistering pace represents Le Mans’ best chance of a famous result on Wednesday.
And, with the January transfer window just days away now, Diarra could not ask for a better time to showcase his talents against the best team in the country.
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