'I love him' - Idrissa Gueye pays tribute to Everton skipper Coleman | OneFootball

Idrissa Gana Gueye has revealed his love and admiration for Everton captain Séamus Coleman.

Coleman will play his 15th season for the Toffees in 2023/24 after signing a one-year extension to his contract last week.

And Gueye says the Irishman made such an impression on him during his first spell at Everton that they stayed in regular contact during his three years at Paris Saint-Germain.

“Everywhere I go, I find myself talking about Séamus… maybe he didn’t know that!” Gueye told the Everton’s official website.

“I messaged him a lot, when I was in PSG or with the national team, I kept talking to him because I respect him so much. He really impressed me the first time I was here and, of course, he hasn’t changed.

“The first day I arrived back at Everton, I said to Amadou [Onana], ‘If you have only one guy who you know you can trust 100 per cent, it’s Séamus’… He’s that guy.

“He showed me during my first few years here, I saw him doing some things and later you would realise exactly why.

“He is a proper captain and a great player. And not only that, above all of that, above being a footballer, he is a proper human being, a great guy.”

Gueye won numerous trophies during his time at PSG and has been capped over 100 times by the Senegal national team.

And as the 33-year-old enters the twilight of his career, he hopes to emulate Coleman’s leadership qualities.

“I love him! Séamus, for me, is unique,” he added.

“Sometimes, I try to be more like him. I know I’m not perfect. Sometimes I can be sad and in those situations sometimes I keep myself to myself sometimes, rather than speaking out.

“Séamus is never like that, he always has the right words for the situation. He knows when to talk harder to bring everyone together and he knows when he doesn’t need to do that.

“He’s not just shouting in the dressing room every time, no, he talks when he needs to talk. Sometimes in football and in life people want to be loudest in the room, but Séamus talks when he feels like he needs to and he has something to say.

“It’s completely natural with him.

“I’ve never seen it in any other person I’ve met in my life.”