Leicester and Newcastle eye seven-goal Metz star Diallo

Leicester City and Newcastle United are on the trail of Metz forward Habibou Diallo, who has scored seven Ligue 1 goals in 11 games this season. Scouts from Leicester and Newcastle were reportedly in attendance at Metz’s last home game against Nantes, which they won 1-0 courtesy of a Diallo goal.
The finish was nothing special as Diallo slid home a centre from Farid Boulaya from the edge of the six-yard box, but it underlined the 24-year-old’s predatory instincts.
The Senegal international has been criticised in the past for his inefficiency, lack of technique or downright casualness in front of goal.
But he did hit a magnificent 26 goals in Ligue 2 as Metz secured promotion back to the French top flight last season.
Former Metz striker Bernard Zénier, Ligue 1’s top scorer in 1987, is surprised by Diallo’s improvement this season. “What surprises me most about him is his efficiency,” he said. “He was sometimes clumsy in the past but he is currently surgical precision. You have to see what he’s going to do all season but he’s gone for a very long time. “He plays in a team that has suffered so far and does not get a plethora of chances per game. I would like to know his goal ratio in relation to the number of chances because he is really impressive in front of the goal. He became a killer. ”
Diallo has been hitting the target, with over 40 per cent of his shots and has converted 50 per cent of those 14 strikes.
He has scored a variety of goals so far, with three from his right foot, two from his left, a header and a penalty.
He has also improved his ball retention stats due to a new-found ability to keep the ball when his back is to the goal.
Reports in France claim Metz could demand 10million euros from any club that attempts to prise him away from the Stade Saint-Symphorien in January, but that would almost certainly leave them short on goals for the second half of the campaign and extremely vulnerable to relegation.