6 of the best Ones to watch in Ivory Coast

Mark Gleeson picks out some of the stars to keep an eye on at the 2023 AFCON finals

1 Oumar DIAKITE
IVORY COAST

After years of searching for a successor to national team record scorer Didier Drogba, the Ivorians might finally have found their man.

The teenager from ASEC Abidjan moved to Red Bull Salzburg in 2022 and spent last season at their satellite club FC Liefering in the Austrian second division, where he consistently rattled in the goals – enough to convince Reims to sign him for a reported €2.5 million at the start of the season and for the Ivory Coast to hand him a first cap – against Lesotho in September – while still only 19.

Diakite’s lightning speed is his primary weapon but he is also technically astute. He took only four games before he found the net in Ligue 1 and looks to be a shrewd purchase.

2 Ben NJONGOUE ELLIOTT
CAMEROON

After making his senior Cameroon debut as a substitute in a 2-2 friendly draw with Mexico in June this year, the Chelsea academy product is finally getting first-team action at Reading. He joined the League One outfit on a three-year deal in the summer, and turned 21 in November. His mother is English but his father is from Cameroon, and Elliott attaches the surname Njongoue when on national team duty for the Indomitable Lions.