Leicester City coach Claude Puel reacts to Riyad Mahrez, Fousseini Diabtae comparison

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Wednesday Jan 31, 2018. 13:30

Leicester City coach Claude Puel has downplayed talks that Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez can be compared to Malian international Fousseini Diabtae.

This comes after the youngster scored twice in the absence of the Algerian international as the Foxes swept aside Peterborough United in the FA Cup.

Diabate got a brace in his first appearance for the King Power Stadium-based side in their 5-1 thrashing of the League One outfit.

The forward joined the Foxes this month from French second tier side Gazelec Ajaccio for an undisclosed fee.

However, Puel said the forward lacks the experience of star man Mahrez, saying the Desert Foxes man is a world class talent.

“Riyad is a great player and we cannot make a comparison between them,” Puel said to the Leicester Mercury.

“He [Diabate] has good attributes and we will see if he can improve and find consistency.

“Riyad is an experienced player, consistent and with quality. He knows on the pitch when to run with the ball or pass. All of this takes time. Diabate is just at the beginning.

“He needs to get to know the Premier League and get to another level, but his performance on the pitch on Saturday, of course, was encouraging.

“He has a lot of steps to make and we need patience because he is a young player. He is at a new club and a new country and he doesn’t speak English.

“It is important to go step by step. He knows he has the ingredients to be in the Premier League.”