Idrissa Gueye

Arriving for morning training sessions in Everton's training ground.

Born in Dakar, Senegal, he joined Diambers FC de Saly football academy before moving to France to join Ligue 1 outfits Lille in 2008. In his first season with the French club he was a bit part player with 11 appearances as Lille finished as Ligue 1 champions. The following season in 2011/12 he established himself as more of a regular in the first-team with 25 appearances in Ligue 1. The next three seasons would see him feature prominently as one of the mainstays of Lille's midfield with 123 appearances in all competitions. After 5 seasons with the French club he joined Premier League club Aston Villa for a fee of £9 million. The Senegalese quickly installed himself in The Villains' midfield featuring in 35 out of a possible 38 games in the Premier League, his efforts would be in vain as Aston Villa were relegated at the end of the season. In August 2016 with Aston Villa relegated, Premier League club Everton triggered a release clause in the midfielder's contract which allowed them to sign him for a fee of £7.1 million and tied him up to a four-year deal. He would continue where he left off with Villa, the midfield dynamo went on to make the highest number of successful tackles and interceptions per match across Europe's top 5 leagues over the calendar year of 2016, finishing the 2016/17 season with 33 Premier League appearances for Everton. In the next couple of seasons the man from Senegal would feature 73 times in all competitions for The Blues, winning the club's Player's Player of the Year for the 2018/19 season. In the summer of 2019 he moved to PSG.