Stoke City: Elland Road disasterclass was beginning of the end for £14m man | OneFootball

Badou Ndiaye became Stoke's second most expensive player ever in 2018, but a disastrous Elland Road display marked the start of his downfall...

Stoke City made central midfielder Badou Ndiaye their second most expensive player of all-time in January 2018, but an Elland Road disasterclass vs Leeds United would mark the beginning of the end of his Potters career.

Signed from Turkish giants Galatasaray for a reported fee of £14m, the Senegalese international was brought in to help add bite and quality into Stoke's midfield ahead of their battle to stay in the Premier League in the second half of the 2017/18 season.

Ndiaye was Paul Lambert's only permanent signing during his short and ill-fated tenure in the Potteries, as the club would ultimately suffer relegation from the top-flight that season.

The midfielder looked set to play a big role in Stoke's 2018/19 campaign, but that was soon to change after a disastrous performance at Elland Road on the opening day of the Championship season, and would set in motion the beginning of the end of Ndiaye's time with the club.

With Stoke City now under the management of Gary Rowett in the summer of 2018, the Staffordshire outfit had been able to retain a number of their key players from their previous season in the Premier League.

As a result, the Potters were among the big favourites to win promotion from the Championship in 2018/19, and they would start that pursuit with a trip to Elland Road to take on a Leeds United side who were preparing to begin the Marcelo Bielsa era.

Stoke wouldn't be granted a warm welcome back to the second tier, however, as the Whites ran out 3-1 winners in what was to be a sign of the success to come during Bielsa's reign.

There were few, if any players in a Potters shirt that came out of that game with any credit, but it was Ndiaye's performance in particular that drew him heavy criticism from Stoke supporters.

He'd been linked with a summer transfer away from the club just months after signing, with Everton being named as one of the clubs who were heavily interested in signing him.

So, after putting in a display that failed to convince Stoke fans that he wanted to be at the club, and one that saw him substituted after 63 minutes, his relationship with the supporters was forever soured.

That was to be Ndiaye's lone appearance for Stoke City in the 2018/19 season, as come the end of August, he'd secured a season-long loan return to Turkish giants Galatasaray.

He would enjoy an impressive season with the Istanbul-based side too, scoring three times and providing five assists in 33 total appearances with the club that term.

Ndiaye would report back to Stoke for the start of the 2019/20 season, but wouldn't feature until matchday seven of their Championship campaign due to fitness issues.

13 appearances in the second tier is all he would make for the Potters that year, providing no goals or assists during that time either. As a result, the club would begin a cycle of securing him numerous loan exits over the next 18 months.

Ndiaye would spend time with Trabzonspor, Karagumruk and Al Ain respectively between January 2020-June 2021, and would provide goals and assists on each of those stops, only serving to further increase frustration from everyone of a Potters persuasion.

He was evidently a player that could make an impact, but that just wasn't happening in a Stoke City shirt. July 2021 would be when his nightmare time in the Potteries would finally come to an end, however.

Ndiaye cancelled his Stoke contract by mutual consent, and secured a free transfer to Greek side Aris Thessaloniki. A disastrous deal for the club, Ndiaye is a name that Potters fans will want to forget.

Unfortunately though, he left a legacy that would see him remembered as one of the club's most expensive transfer flops in recent memory.