French-born of Senegalese descent, Ibrahima Diallo is the younger brother of Abdou who has played for Borussia Dortmund, Paris St-Germain and RB Leipzig as well as Senegal. When he signed for Saints for a fee believed to be around £11m, aged 21, it was his first venture overseas having spent his formative years in Monaco’s academy before having his first taste of senior football with Brest.

At the time the manager, Ralph Hasenhuttl had this to say

“He is a very smart one, a very clever one, he reads the game very well. He’s also quick and dynamic”.

Unfortunately he did not live up to the manager’s testimonial. Playing mainly as a defensive midfielder, he never properly established himself over the three years he spent at the club. Out of the 114 Premier League games that took place in that period he featured in 63 with 32 of those appearances coming off the bench. He had made his debut as a sub in a 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge and by a strange quirk his last game for the Saints came in another 3-3 draw in London this time at Arsenal, again as a substitute. He joined Qatari football in the summer of 2023.