Stoke City: Elland Road disasterclass was beginning of the end for £14m man

Stoke City: Elland Road disasterclass was beginning of the end for £14m man

Badou Ndiaye, a central midfielder, was made the second most expensive player in Stoke City’s history in January 2018, but his Potters career would come to an end after a disastrous match against Leeds United at Elland Road.

The Senegalese international was acquired for a reputed £14 million from Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray in order to assist Stoke’s midfield gain quality and bite before their fight to stay in the Premier League in the second half of the 2017–18 campaign.

During his brief and tragic stay in the Potteries, Paul Lambert made Ndiaye his only long-term acquisition. The team would eventually be relegated from the top division that season.

The midfielder appeared to be expected to play a significant part in Stoke’s 2018–19 season, but that was about to change following a terrible showing at Elland Road on the first day of the Championship season, which would also mark the beginning of Ndiaye’s departure from the team.

Badou Ndiaye’s lackluster Leeds performance saw Stoke City fans turn on him

With Stoke City now under the management of Gary Rowett in the summer of 2018, the Staffordshire outfit had been able to retain a number of their key players from their previous season in the Premier League.

As a result, the Potters were among the big favourites to win promotion from the Championship in 2018/19, and they would start that pursuit with a trip to Elland Road to take on a Leeds United side who were preparing to begin the Marcelo Bielsa era.

Stoke wouldn’t be granted a warm welcome back to the second tier, however, as the Whites ran out 3-1 winners in what was to be a sign of the success to come during Bielsa’s reign.

There were few, if any players in a Potters shirt that came out of that game with any credit, but it was Ndiaye’s performance in particular that drew him heavy criticism from Stoke supporters.

He’d been linked with a summer transfer away from the club just months after signing, with Everton being named as one of the clubs who were heavily interested in signing him.

So, after putting in a display that failed to convince Stoke fans that he wanted to be at the club, and one that saw him substituted after 63 minutes, his relationship with the supporters was forever soured.

Badou Ndiaye exited Stoke and then returned, but his Potters renaissance didn’t last long

By the end of August, Ndiaye had earned a season-long loan return to Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray, meaning that would be his last appearance for Stoke City in the 2018–19 campaign.

He would also have a fantastic season with the Istanbul-based team, making 33 games throughout that season and contributing three goals and five assists.

Ndiaye would return to Stoke for the 2019–20 season, although because of fitness concerns, he wouldn’t play until matchday seven of their Championship campaign.

He would only make 13 appearances for the Potters in the second division that season, and he did not contribute any goals or assists. Consequently, over the course of the following 18 months, the club would start a cycle of obtaining him multiple loan exits.

Between January 2020 and June 2021, Ndiaye would play for Trabzonspor, Karagumruk, and Al Ain, respectively. He would score goals and contribute assists during each of those stints, which would only make Potters even more irate.

He was clearly a player with the ability to have an effect, but wearing a Stoke City shirt didn’t allow him to do that. But it wouldn’t be until July 2021 that his terrible stay in the Potteries would end.

By mutual agreement, Ndiaye terminated his Stoke contract and signed a free transfer to Aris Thessaloniki of Greece. Potters supporters will want to forget Ndiaye, who was a terrible deal for the team.

But regrettably, he left a record that would make him one of the club’s most costly transfer failures in recent history.

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