Rangers' Mohammed Diomande (left) and Celtic's Reo Hatate battle for the ball during the William Hill Premiership match at Ibrox Stadium. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)Rangers' Mohammed Diomande (left) and Celtic's Reo Hatate battle for the ball during the William Hill Premiership match at Ibrox Stadium. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)
Rangers' Mohammed Diomande (left) and Celtic's Reo Hatate battle for the ball during the William Hill Premiership match at Ibrox Stadium. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)
Mohamed Diomande has been linked with a move to Rangers, but who is the midfielder tipped to reach the very top?
Everton are emerging from the other side of a troubled few years with David Moyes providing the light at the end of the tunnel.
His return to Goodison last season saw an upturn in fortunes that many thought impossible as the veteran boss once again proved the doubters wrong ahead of a summer in which 14 players could leave Everton.
After seeing Dan Purdy follow Kevin Thelwell to Rangers, Moyes will have to deal with new voices in negotiating potential transfers but it looks like the departed pair may have already stitched up their new club.
According to The Daily Express, Everton are interested in signing Mohamed Diomande from Rangers to strengthen a midfield that has lost a big character.
Who is Mohamed Diomande, the Rangers midfielder linked with a move to Everton?
Diomande’s path into elite football isn’t a familiar one, however, when the Right to Dream academy spotted the youngster playing in the Ivory Coast, a place in their much vaunted set-up in Ghana was secured.
The academy has a long-established link with Denmark’s Nordsjaelland where his early promise saw him handed the captain’s armband at just 21-years old.
His versatility caught the eye of Rangers recruitment team before a £4.3m move to Glasgow gave Diomande the platform needed to best showcase his talents.
The SPFL is a unique league, especially for either side of the Old Firm, however, it has been in the Europa League where the 23-year old talent’s have shone.
Against Nice and Tottenham Hotspur, Diomande was outstanding, as well as being dominant in recent Old Firm derbies.
In most domestic games, Diomande has played as a box to box midfielder, but in Europe, he has been deployed as a more attack-minded No.10.
That the Ivory Coast have used Diomande as a defensive midfielder shows exactly how versatile he can be and could be a dream signing for Moyes.
How good could Mohamed Diomande be for Everton?
Former Rangers boss Philippe Clement reckons that Diomande can go all the way, via STV:
“He’s a high potential player, and I don’t think that Rangers will be his last step. No, I don’t think so, I’m sure.
“Of course, you need some luck with injuries in your career, but if he stays out of that, he’s going to make bigger steps because he has talents, but not only talent, but also the really right mentality to work for the team, to be very concentrated, to be very focussed.
“And those are the things you’re looking for when you go in talks with players, you always can see what they can do on the pitch or what they are doing and what you think you can improve.
“But the most important thing is how people are ambitious to evolve themselves and how they want to take in information and work around that and is somebody with really high focus on those things.
“So, it’s like a sponge [with] him. He will get better and better. The more information he gets, the more experience he gets, the better he will become.
“I think he can (reach the very top).”
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