Moussa Niakhate has been praised by a striker Nottingham Forest have tried to sign in the past. The player won the praise after playing the full 90 minutes as Senegal slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Algeria.
The central defender is awaiting his first start of the 2023/24 campaign. He dislocated his elbow in pre-season but has been on the bench for all four Premier League matches this term.
Niakhate hasn’t really had things all his own way since arriving at Forest. He spent seven months on the sidelines last season after a bad hamstring injury was picked up in the second game of 2022/23.
Now, he looks to be on the mend, however. He showed no signs of ill effects as he played the full match and picked up another Senegal cap.
Dia is a man who has been on the radar of Premier League clubs for some time. He’s kicked on since joining Salernitana from Villarreal and last season, he scored 16 goals for the mid-table Serie A outfit.
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Everton tried to sign him in the summer. He had a release clause of around £16 million but the Toffees opted to sign Beto instead. Forest tried to get the player in the summer of 2022 but couldn’t tempt him with a move.
Niakhate praised by Dia after Forest man plays for Senegal
This is good from a Forest perspective. Niakhate hasn’t played much football at all so far this season and getting 90 minutes under his belt with Senegal will do him good.
Dia wrote on his Instagram afterwards to praise his performance. The striker said: “It’s solid, yes!”
Furthermore, he put two strong emojis on the post alongside his message. Clearly, the talisman was impressed with his showing and he seems to be fancied by the Senegal head coach.
The challenge now for Niakhate is to head back to Forest and get back in the team. With Felipe also on his way back to full fitness, perhaps the Reds’ backline will start to look stronger in the coming weeks.