🔗 Share this article

Formal or informal? It says a lot about the young Senegalese star that his delight at being promoted from Strasbourg’s Under-17s to the first team was mixed with worry over the two distinct words for “you.”

Would addressing new, established teammates by using “tu” be regarded as too familiar? In the end, the promising talent played safe and selected the more polite “vous”. This prompted widespread amusement from the older players who instructed him not to be so silly; he was one of them now.

“After I had the first call with the coach, I sat down and said to my parents: ‘Sunderland’s where I want to be; that’s where I want to play.’ The Premier League was always a ambition of mine and the coach outlined for me a well-defined and appealing project.”

Almost five years later, Diarra is sitting in an office at Sunderland’s Academy of Light explaining why he turned down offers from, among others, several top European clubs. His innate courtesy remains but it is apparent that the 22-year-old Senegal international and doubt are virtual strangers. Diarra carries himself with the self-assurance befitting a player who led Strasbourg at the tender age of twenty and, only last month, returned from Morocco holding an Africa Cup of Nations championship trophy.

A Clear Project

With the groin injury that kept him out for much of the first half of the domestic season resolved, Diarra is on a quest to demonstrate precisely why he agreed to become Sunderland’s record £30m signing last summer. Pundits in France and Senegal questioned Diarra’s surprising decision but he knew all about Régis Le Bris’s standing as a talented youth coach.

“I haven’t been surprised by the coach’s ability because I already knew what he’s capable of,” says Diarra. “Playing against his teams I realised he was very good, very strong tactically. He’s someone I know is helping my game progress. And although our first objective is reaching 40 points, European qualification is certainly a realistic target this season.”

A Unified Environment

Outside, the chilly February wind and driving rain makes Wearside look as grim as it is often stereotyped. Inside, things are considerably warmer. The atmosphere is free of the type of strain notable at certain clubs where administrative staff are kept apart from Premier League squads. Diarra portrays the environment as “very organic” and commends Le Bris’s role in its creation.

“The coach always says to us that we have a familial bond here and we all fight for each other,” he says. “We’re all proud of each other.”

Liberty and Structure

If the structure, rigor and sheer hard yards supporting Sunderland’s out-of-possession shape are a proof of the head coach’s meticulous eye for detail, Le Bris also likes his players to use their initiative. He offers his engine room players complete licence to improvise and swap roles.

“The coach sets his tactics out within a structure but we have license to play within it,” says Diarra, who favors playing as a all-action No 8. “During matches that is empowering. That autonomy is so important. Granit, our skipper, helps us a lot. He’s a really big player and a superb role model.”

Journey and Adaptation

Diarra is using a French interpreter but his English has progressed to the point where he can grasp most questions. He is now concentrating on acquiring the vocabulary to also answer them, which would be his third language. He is proficient in Wolof, the language he spoke growing up in his hometown near Dakar.

His precocious maturity helped him combat the frustration of needing an operation followed by four months on the sidelines last autumn. “Getting hurt so soon after arriving here was disheartening, for sure,” he says. “But it was up to me to manage myself.”

Diarra is now looking forward to playing in this summer’s World Cup. Given Senegal have been drawn in the same group as France, a emotional matchup awaits the former Les Bleus under-21 midfielder. “I enjoyed representing for France but my inner feeling prevailed,” says Diarra. “There’s no regrets. I was born in Senegal; it makes me proud to play for them.”

Comparable feelings apply to Sunderland. “I’ve adapted very well,” he says. “I feel really comfortable here.”