There will be frustration from Leeds United’s point of view after missing out on the signing of Habib Diarra.
The Strasbourg midfielder is set to sign for Sunderland this summer after it looked all but certain he would become a Leeds player.
Outlets even went as far as to suggest that Diarra’s move to Leeds was ‘imminent’, but this clearly wasn’t the case.
Instead, Regis Le Bris’ side are set to land the box-to-box midfielder who heavily impressed for Senegal vs England, as Diarra is set to join for £30m.
Daniel Farke and the 49ers will have to look elsewhere, but what Patrick Vieira felt about Diarra might prove Leeds have actually got away with one.
Patrick Vieira’s feelings on former Leeds United target Habib Diarra
The 21-year-old will embark on a new chapter in the Premier League, which he thoroughly deserves after his performances for Strasbourg.
Unfortunately, he won’t be able to replicate this with Leeds, but Quinten Timber could be a Diarra alternative, so it’s not all doom and gloom.
For £30m, Leeds might have been unsure whether they wanted to spend that much on an unproven player in England, but he seemed to perform just fine against Thomas Tuchel’s side when they faced off.
Although his ability is there for all to see, his off-field antics might actually suggest that he might not be the easiest of players to handle.
This is what former Strasbourg boss and Arsenal legend Vieira found out, as L’Equipe reported on Vieira’s true feelings about Diarra when he was 19.
It was claimed in 2023 that Vieira began to become ‘frustrated’ with Diarra’s attitude and told that to the teenager.
During his second season with the club, Diarra was supposedly performing poorly in training and not giving his full focus in pre-season, and this ultimately led to the midfielder telling Strasbourg president Marc Keller that he wanted to leave and join a club with European football to offer in the 2023/24 campaign.
This was almost the case again this summer with Keller allowing Diarra to leave, and the player himself wanting Champions League football.
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Leeds might have dodged a bullet with Diarra after Vieira comments
The last thing Farke would’ve wanted is toxic attitudes around the dressing room, and this could’ve happened with the arrival of Diarra.
Although this doesn’t tell the full picture, his attitude is clearly a problem if reports of this have come out on two occasions now, but this doesn’t mean Vieira didn’t respect him as a player.
His quality would be a big help to Leeds, but Farke will know he can’t have players disrupting the team chemistry, especially after the Whites boss has built a unity which led to players backing Farke amid sack rumours.
The team will need to stick together now more than ever with a potential relegation battle around the corner, and in that sense, Leeds have dodged a bullet with Sunderland swooping in with a £30m deal for Diarra.
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