Manchester United sold the striker to German side Hannover 96 in January. He has had an impressive start scoring six times in nine games.
Up until around a decade ago, Manchester United fans would revel in the saying that the only route after leaving the club, was downwards.
Since then a cast of players have gone on to prove the saying wrong, starting with David Beckham, who enjoyed four seasons with Real Madrid, winning La Liga once.
Giuseppe Rossi was another who decided to take his chances away from Old Trafford, making a name for himself at Spanish club Villareal and becoming an Italy international.
Diego Forlan’s career only really took off after leaving United, becoming top scorer in La Liga with Villareal, going onto play for Atletico Madrid, winning the Europa Cup, before shining at the 2010 World Cup and signing for Inter Milan last summer.
The most successful of the lot is Spanish defender Gerard Pique, a two-time Champions League winner with Barcelona and World Cup winner with Spain.
Could an unlikely name be about to join them?
Mame Biram Diouf was signed by Manchester United in January 2010, after scoring 45 times in 86 games for Norwegian club Molde.
At United the striker found opportunities very limited, bagging just one league goal in a home rout of Burnley shortly after his arrival, but in his defence, he only made nine first team appearances for the club.
Many of these were from the bench, while when given starts in the Carling Cup earlier this season he was played out on the wing, also spending a season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, scoring six goals.
United fans were pretty adamant that the player did not have what it took to make it at the club, but his exploits at new side Hannover should not go unnoticed.
He came off the bench yesterday in the Bundesliga for Hannover against FC Koln, scoring twice in 25 minutes to put the gloss on a 4-1 victory, bringing his total to six in nine games.
He will hope to follow in the footsteps of fellow Senegalese forward Papiss Cisse who was a Bundesliga success, scoring 37 times for German club Freiburg.
Diouf is still, unlike United, in the Europa League, with Hannover beating Standard Liege in the last round and Diouf scoring twice, and will face Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.
After signing at the end of the January transfer window for an undisclosed amount, he has certainly settled quickly, and fans of United will be happy to see him settling into his new surroundings, getting regular first team football.
They might just hope however that he doesn’t go on to be as prolific as Cisse or better, and make United regret selling him.
Should Diouf have been given a proper chance at Manchester United?
image: © funky1opti
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
