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Sunderland Star With A Point To Prove Under Régis Le Bris Next Season - opinion
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- Sunderland Star With A Point To Prove Under Régis Le Bris Next Season - opinion
Why Habib Diarra has a point to prove at Sunderland next season
Sunderland are just over a fortnight away from beginning their 2026/27 Premier League campaign away at newly-promoted Ipswich Town, with the Black Cats hoping for a similarly successful season as last term.
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In their first season back amongst England 's elite, Sunderland finished seventh in the Premier League table and subsequently qualified for the Europa League competition in the upcoming campaign, seeing Regis Le Bris ' team cap off a remarkable year of football.
Despite the outstanding achievement of Sunderland last season, there are still some questions over how some of Le Bris' squad members will fare in the upcoming campaign.
Ahead of next season, there is one Sunderland player who has a major point to prove to Black Cats boss Le Bris, as he looks to take his red-and-white career to the next level in 26/27.
Habib Diarra in pre-season Sunderland vs Wrexham (Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Sunderland Star Habib Diarra Has Point To Prove Next Season
Sunderland signed central midfielder Habib Diarra from Strasbourg last summer in a £30m club-record signing, but the energetic number 8's maiden campaign at the Stadium of Light was not reflective of that substantial fee.
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As a result of injury issues and the mid-season AFCON tournament, Diarra was limited to just 20 appearances in the Premier League for Sunderland, in which he scored twice and assisted two goals.
There were positive signs from the Senegalese midfielder, but he was often wasteful in possession and ineffective for Sunderland in many games, which is less than impressive considering the significant outlay for his services last summer.
According to FotMob data, Diarra registered just an 82 percent pass accuracy in the Premier League, creating just one big chance for his teammates and delivering a turgid 12.5 percent successful crossing accuracy.
Towards the end of the season, Diarra lost his place in the Sunderland starting XI to playmaker Enzo Le Fee, who excelled in that area of the field and proved far more productive in the attacking midfield spaces under Le Bris last season than the £30m talent.
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Following his lacklustre debut campaign on Wearside, the 2026 World Cup tournament has proven to be the potential revival period that Diarra needed, with the Senegalese star netting twice for his national side, who were knocked out by Belgium in the Round of 32.
At the World Cup, Diarra proved his ability to impact attacking proceedings on the global stage, and the 22-year-old must now project that form into the upcoming campaign for Sunderland.
Despite failing to set the Stadium of Light stage alight, there are certainly exciting elements to Diarra's game that bode promise for next season, of which include his fantastic athletisicm and direct, defence-stretching runs in-behind.
Not only will Diarra need to dislodge Le Fee from Sunderland's attacking central midfield role, but the young midfielder will need to show Le Bris and the Black Cats fanbase why the Stadium of Light transfer team shelled out a club-record £30m for him just over 12 months ago.
