What Stoke can expect from midfield target Badou Ndiaye
Stoke City are reportedly on the verge of a £15m deal for Galatasaray midfielder Badou Ndiaye as Paul Lambert looks to bolster his ranks ahead of tomorrow’s transfer deadline.
The 27-year-old only joined the Turkish giants from Super Lig rivals Osmanlispor in the summer but the opportunity to make a significant profit - over twice the fee they paid six months ago - has convinced The Lions to sell.
Ndiaye, after all, has been a star performer in Turkey for some time now, with his box-to-box displays in the middle of the park catching the eye.
The Senegalese international is a real asset to his side with and without the ball, scoring 18 league goals in his two and a half seasons in the Super Lig whilst still offering protection to his defence.
That something that Stoke’s leaky back line desperately need after all, having shipped the most goals in the Premier League this season, and Ndiaye’s energy will be a real boost given Darren Fletcher’s advancing years.
An average of 2.9 tackles per game this season is level with Joe Allen, who has been forced to get through a lot of work in the middle ground for the Potters.
Once he does win possession, the 27-year-old uses the ball well too, completing 87.6% of his passes this season, whilst also being capable of breaking the lines himself. Indeed, an average of 2.8 dribbles per game in the previous campaign was enough to rank among the top five players in Turkey, and while that figure has dropped at Galatasaray (1.8 per game), the can be attributed to playing in a more possession oriented side.
With that in mind he will be capable of offering relief to Stoke’s defence both with and without the ball, which is something that will be vital between now and the end of the season to a side that had lost its discipline under Mark Hughes.
If Ndiaye can hit the ground running in the Potteries as Allen did, and subsequently forge a partnership with the Welshman, the Premier League strugglers will have a much better chance of beating the drop.
