OPINION
It hasn’t always been plain-sailing for Newcastle United midfielder Mohamed Diame this season, but Saturday’s performance against Bournemouth was a big statement from the veteran.
The Senegal international, on a reported £45,000-per-week at the club [Source: Spotrac], has often come under fire this season for a string of sub-par performances at the start of the campaign.
However, his latest showing demonstrated that he still has some worth for the Magpies moving forward. Playing alongside summer signing Ki Sung-yueng with Jonjo Shelvey out injured, the 31-year-old produced a battling display that helped propel the hosts to victory at St James’ Park.
It’s performances like this that will ensure the midfielder stays on Tyneside beyond the end of the season. The Chronicle reported recently that the former Hull City man’s current deal is up at the end of the campaign, but that he will trigger an extension if he plays a certain number of games this term.
It appears as if that will happen, given that Diame has played every Premier League fixture thus far for Rafael Benitez’s side.
He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and he’s no longer the powerful, marauding figure he once was, but Diame showed on Saturday that he can still offer something to this Newcastle team.
He should be given credit for adapting his game from a box-to-box midfield goal threat to a combative, defensive midfielder. That is the role he has settled into this season, and he demonstrated his proficiency again against the Cherries with a number of important blocks and tackles.
He was applauded off by the home fans when he departed for Christian Atsu, something that hasn’t happened too often for him in his Magpies tenure.
He’s not the flashiest of players, and his form earlier this season was poor, but recently Diame has shown that he still has a part to play on Tyneside beyond this campaign.
