Mo Diame
Few will disagree that Diame’s performances in the Championship last season and across the first half of the current campaign were lamentable at best. The Senegalese midfielder was routinely criticised for his perceived ‘lazy’ performances, both in matches and training, and was reportedly transfer listed by Rafa Benitez in January as his Newcastle career reached an undignified nadir.
It’s a credit to Diame’s mentality that he’s forcibly brought himself back from the brink at St James’ Park and reinvented his image amongst supporters after being dropped deeper into the Newcastle engine room by Rafa Benitez, who regularly deployed him out of position in the no.10 role. The 30-year-old has seized the role of the Magpies’ midfield destroyer, ousting Isaac Hayden, and strung together some impressive performances in 2018, looking hungrier, sharper and far more comfortable playing alongside Jonjo Shelvey or Mikel Merino rather than in advance of them. His strength in and out of possession has complimented the creative talents of both Shelvey and Merino in recent matches and cemented Diame’s position as the general of Newcastle’s midfield.
