🔗 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 anxiety over the two French words for “you.”

Was it appropriate to address new, senior teammates by using “tu” be regarded as too familiar? In the end, the promising talent opted for caution and selected the more polite “vous”. Cue wholesale laughter 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 reflected 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 presented me with a clear and interesting project.”

Almost five years later, Diarra is settled in an office at Sunderland’s Academy of Light detailing why he turned down offers from, among others, several top European clubs. His natural politeness endures but it is clear that the young Senegal international and uncertainty are virtual strangers. Diarra conducts himself with the confidence suited to a player who captained Strasbourg at the age of 20 and, only last month, returned from Morocco holding an Africa Cup of Nations championship trophy.

A Defined Vision

Now that the groin issue that sidelined him for much of the first half of the league campaign healed, Diarra is on a mission to demonstrate precisely why he agreed to become Sunderland’s record £30m signing last summer. Pundits in France and Senegal questioned Diarra’s unfashionable choice but he knew all about Régis Le Bris’s standing as a gifted youth coach.

“I haven’t been surprised by the coach’s capabilities because I already knew what he’s able to achieve,” says Diarra. “Playing against his teams I understood he was very good, very strong in terms of strategy. 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

Externally, the chilly February wind and driving rain makes Wearside look as grim as it is often stereotyped. Inside, things are considerably warmer. The environment is devoid of the type of tension found in certain clubs where office workers are deliberately segregated from first-team players. Diarra portrays the environment as “really natural” and praises 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. “Each of us takes pride of each other.”

Liberty and Structure

If the organisation, discipline and sheer hard yards underpinning Sunderland’s out-of-possession shape are a testament to the head coach’s attention to minutiae, Le Bris also likes his players to use their initiative. He offers his engine room players full freedom to be creative and interchange positions.

“Our manager establishes his tactics out within a structure but we have license to play within it,” says Diarra, who favors playing as a box-to-box No 8. “During matches that feels good. That autonomy is so important. Granit, our skipper, guides us a lot. He’s a really big player and a superb role model.”

Journey and Adaptation

Diarra is speaking through a French interpreter but his English has progressed to the point where he can grasp most questions. He is now focusing 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 the Senegalese capital.

His early maturity helped him deal with the frustration of needing groin surgery followed by four months on the sidelines last autumn. “Getting hurt so soon after arriving here was frustrating, for sure,” he says. “But it was up to me to handle the situation.”

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 poignant reunion awaits the former Les Bleus under-21 midfielder. “I loved playing for France but my heart spoke,” says Diarra. “I have no remorse. I was born in Senegal; it makes me proud to play for them.”

Similar emotions apply to Sunderland. “I've settled very well,” he says. “I am really comfortable here.”