What’s the story?
Former France national team captain Alou Diarra is interesting Indian Super League (ISL) clubs, according to various sources. The defensive midfielder is a veteran of over 500 matches and has played his club football in France, Germany and England in a long career so far. His next stop is most likely India, with ISL clubs eyeing a cut-price deal for the 35-year-old.
However, nothing is confirmed at this stage and talks are advancing with three clubs, one of which is believed to be Mumbai City FC.
The context
With the ISL domestic player acquisitions set to be completed this month, clubs are already turning their attentions to big foreign stars. This time round, the ISL will comprise 10 teams and will be spread over a period of five months. Besides, the number of foreign players in every starting eleven is also set to come down, leaving clubs to choose their foreign targets with greater consideration.
The heart of the matter
Indian defensive midfielders are a rare commodity with only a handful of names being in the elite category Indian players. The likes of Rowllin Borges, Pronay Halder and Mehtab Hossain are among them, but they are so less in number that clubs find it easier to look outside India than getting involved in a tug of war with their rivals.
Diarra fits the bill as a world-class deep-lying midfielder, which is one of the reasons why he has been sounded out by ISL clubs. Although it is unconfirmed which clubs are zeroing in on Diarra, his pedigree and experience mean the 44-time capped former France international will be a quality addition to any ISL club.
What’s next?
The deadline for ISL clubs to name their head coaches is 15th July, while the domestic player draft is tentatively scheduled for 23rd July. As the clubs tie up all loose ends regarding coaches and Indian players before the end of this month, they have also slowly started to test the waters of the international market. Diarra, judging by his career record, is interesting various clubs and an ISL move for him could be said to be imminent.
Author’s take
Diarra has had stints with Bayern Munich and Liverpool early on in his career but his big successes came at Lyon and Bordeaux where he won Ligue 1 titles. The experienced midfield anchorman is a free agent after being released by Nancy this summer, hence the prospect of having to pay no transfer fees involved is turning out to be an attractive one for the interested ISL franchises.
