Football
Ed Dove, Special to ESPN 6y

Mali's Cheick Diabate secures Emirates move

Mali international Cheick Diabate has completed a move from Osmanlispor to Emirates Club FC, according to reports in France.

L'Equipe have revealed that the 30-year-old was unveiled by the Emirati side on Tuesday, with BeinSports adding that the forward had moved on a loan deal.

The powerful frontman spent the second half of last season on loan at Serie A side Benevento, where he netted eight goals in 11 games but was unable to save the club from the drop.

In April, he equalled a 17-year Serie A goalscoring record when he scored twice in Benevento's 2-2 draw at Sassuolo.

His brace meant that he became the first player to score two goals or more in three consecutive Italian top-flight games since Dario Hubner in October 2017, and ensured he became an instant hit with Benevento fans.

Both Stade Reims and AC Ajaccio had been linked with move for the attacker this summer, although he's ultimately opted to move further afield for the latest chapter in his nomadic career.

Diabate overcame adversity and tragedy - he lost his mother as a youngster and his best friend during his early teens -- in his homeland before moving to Bordeaux as an 18-year-old.

He struggled to build on the promise he showed with Les Girondins as a youngster, and a 2016 move to Turkey never truly worked out, although Diabate did help save Metz from the drop during a brief loan spell in 2017.

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