PROFILE | Bafodé Diakité – Lille’s quiet leader fills Leny Yoro void | OneFootball

There were more than a few growing concerns for Bafodé Diakité at the start of the year. The tail end of 2023 had been frankly worrying with the Lille defender succumbing to a recurring shoulder injury in December. It was an issue that would need to be addressed with surgery and would force Diakité to miss the first few months of the new year as he recovered.

By the end of February, Diakité would mark his return with a few tentative minutes at the death of a 3-1 loss to Toulouse. However, those minutes would prove to be the start of an exceptionally consistent year for the Frenchman as he earned a spot as an ever-present fixture within the centre of Lille’s defence.

Former head coach Paulo Fonseca had frequently used Diakité as a makeshift right-back before the defender underwent surgery, but this changed following his return. Fonseca instead preferred to rely on Diakité alongside either Leny Yoro or Alexsandro in the centre of defence.

Those early worries that accompanied the start of 2024 quickly faded as Diakité demonstrated quiet leadership and a knack for popping up at exactly the right time. Despite playing in the centre-back role, the Frenchman had an eye for goal and even scored against Aston Villa in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final.

Diakité’s stature at the club has grown significantly since last season. The centre-back has more than filled the void of losing Yoro to Manchester United over the summer. Diakité has embraced the departure as an opportunity and effortlessly moved into Yoro’s spot as the right-sided centre-back to help maintain one of the better defences in the league.

‘An exemplary player’ – Génésio on Diakité

The departure of Fonseca from the club has also found a way to provide Diakité with an opportunity. The new head coach Bruno Génésio was quick to spot the leadership qualities of the young defender and promoted him to third captain, “He is an exemplary player. Even if he is not someone who shouts, he has the right words, he is listened to and he plays in a very important strategic position to be captain.”

Diakité has become one of Lille’s most dependable players. The centre-back has not missed a game for Les Dogues across all competitions and has started in every fixture except in the 3-1 victory over Atlético de Madrid. Génésio had hoped to rest his defender for that match, however, with Lille 1-0 down at half-time, he relied once more on his young centre-back.

It was perhaps the perfect example of what Diakité has become to Lille. He was the quiet leader that Génésio turned to when he believed that the team needed some poise, control, and experience.

GFFN | Nick Hartland