Pre-season is a time for testing new players and new ideas ahead of the upcoming season, and Valencia have certainly used it to do exactly that.
In their friendly against fellow LaLiga side Alaves on Saturday, head coach Ruben Baraja tested Mouctar Diakhaby, who is naturally a central defender, as a defensive midfielder, a position that he excelled in during the match, as reported by MD.
Valencia are already pretty well covered at defensive midfielder, with new signing Pepelu joining the likes of Javi Guerra and Hugo Guillamon, but Diakhaby could now give Baraja another option there.
Diakhaby is expected to be an important player for Los Che, and he could now be an option to Baraja in both defence and midfield.
Valencia will be hoping for a much better season in 2023-24. They have struggled for a couple of years now, but Baraja impressed when he took over from Gennaro Gattuso last season, so it could be a turning point for the club.
