Calls were made on Twitter last night by Leeds United fans to seeÂToumani Diagouraga back in the senior side after an impressive showing in the Whites’ U23 game against Bolton.

Leeds won the game 4-3 and many felt that Diagouraga, who hasn’t featured much since the opening day, should return to the fold under Garry Monk.

Whether he does or not remains to be seen, but clearly a lot is thought of the former Brentford man at Elland Road. But who is he?

Who isÂToumani Diagouraga?

A 29-year-old defensive midfielder, Diagouraga was born in Paris and came through the youth set up at Paris Saint-Germain before also spending some of his youth career at Watford.

From 2004, he then spent four years on the books of the Hornets but made just one appearance and soon found himself down the leagues with Hereford United.

He then spent 09/10 at Peterborough United before switching to Brentford for six years, making over 200 appearances. He signed for Leeds in early 2016 under Steve Evans and was a key member of the team, but has so far not enjoyed such success this season.

What are his strengths?

At over six foot tall, the Frenchman is naturally strong and good in physical battles, but his passing is also something to be acknowledged.

This means he has the ability to both break play up and start off attacks for Leeds and that’s a skill to be commended. Another of his key traits is that he very rarely loses focus in that holding role, and that ensures he is a decent cover for the Whites’ defence.

What is his playing style?

Combative when he has to be, but Diagouraga is much more than just a midfield destroyer.

He likes to pass the ball around in midfield and make late runs into the box, as well as chip in with the odd goal. He doesn’t tackle as often as you’d feel a holding player should, but his reading of the game allows him to avoid doing so and means he’s very often on top of the game instead of the other way round – he very rarely gets shrugged off of the ball.