There's a certain irony in a footballer sharing a surname with an all-star calibre player, who, for years, plied his trade under the floodlights of European stadia. This is one such case - meet Mohamed Diomande, a fellow arguably trying to live up to his illustrious namesake, yet playing for the opposition. Born on the 30th of October in 2001, this chap found himself having to learn the ropes under the African sun, in the Ivory Coast specifically. At the age of 23, he finds himself as a central midfielder for Rangers, much to the series of groans and facepalms from Bhoys worldwide. For context, Diomande stands at a perfectly serviceable 6 feet (or 1.83m if you fancy sounding all continental), and weighs in at 11st 11lb (or 75kg for those of a more metric persuasion). He takes to the pitch donning the number 10 shirt, the cheeky bugger.
In what can only be described as a metaphorical hop-skip-and-jump, he transferred in January 2020 from the Right to Dream Academy in Ghana to FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark's Superliga. No doubt the lad fancied swapping the African plains for the Danish tundra during their oh-so-inviting winter months. He didn't exactly pull up any trees in his debut season (2019-2020), amassing a grand total of five appearances. However, clearly something clicked between then and the next season, as he managed a more impressive run of 11 appearances, with three goals to boot.
In the succeeding two seasons, our friend Diomande continued to play a more significant role at the club, making 57 appearances and netting eight goals. Now I'm not one to speculate, but this spurt of form could well be why our "friends" over at Ibrox decided to extend a metaphorical olive branch in the form of a loan switch in January 2024. Unfortunately, he repaid their hospitality by scoring two goals in 13 appearances that season. This clearly charmed the Ibrox cohort, and they subsequently shelled out a cool £4.3m to bring him over permanently in July 2024.
Fast-forwarding through the season, Diomande continued to enjoy his time in the blue half of Glasgow, popping up with four goals in 28 appearances to date. Now, racking up appearances is great and all, but trophies are what you write home about. In this regard, it's sad to report, the young man has participated in numerous competitions such as the League Cup 2024 - 2025, where he managed to score one goal in his four games, and the Europa League 2024 - 2025, where he again scored one goal in his nine appearances. So, for now, let's just say his mantelpiece remains lacking a certain lustre.
