Bambo Diaby believes he can be a leader in Barnsley’s inexperienced and new defence.
The 21-year-old Spaniard joined earlier in the summer which has also seen the Reds recruit fellow centre-backs Mads Andersen, Aapo Halme and Toby Sibbick who are all younger than him. The quartet have one Championship start between them and are the least experienced section of one of the youngest squads in English football with an average age of 22. Diaby, who has played in Spain, Italy and Belgium, believes he can be a stalwart at the back.
He told the Chronicle: “Everyone is young but I have played with big and experienced men in other countries before. I have a little bit of experience and I will try to help the other players. They can help me as well and together we will have a good season. “Every day and every training session is much better than the last one. We will do very good things together.”
Diaby arrived on a four-year contract after transferring from Belgian club Lokeren. The former Sampdoria player has travelled with the Reds on their pre-season trips to France and Germany while he has been a regular starter in the friendlies. He said: “The last few weeks for me have been very important. It is a new side, new team-mates and a new country for me.
"I can take a lot of confidence from the last few weeks and I am starting to know a lot of the other players. I need to know as much as I can about every player before the season starts. I like the style of the manager (Daniel Stendel). He explains things very clearly and it’s easy to understand.”
