Gueye: I’m more Diarra than Kante

Idrissa Gueye’s performances in Everton’s midfield have earned the Senegalese powerhouse comparisons with Premier League winner N’Golo Kante, but the 27-year-old has dismissed any similarity, insisting he is his own man.

Gueye has been at the heart of Everton’s solid start to the season – they sit sixth, just five points off leaders Manchester City – and his industrious showings have had people likening him to the diminutive Kante, who joined Chelsea from Leicester in the summer.

But Gueye insisted that, if anyone, he bases his game on Frenchman Lassana Diarra while his childhood hero was David Beckham.

(PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

“I have heard this before, but I wouldn’t say there is a real comparison – he is who he is and I am who I am,” he says. “I can see the model, but I would say there is more of a similarity with Lassana Diarra.”

“When I was young, I looked up to David Beckham, but when I reverted to the midfield position I based my game on Diarra.

“Maybe there is more glory at number 10, but I like my role.

“I was originally more of an attacking midfield player than a defensive one. But, from a young age, I used to spend time on the ball. I was always motivated to get in there [the middle], run with the ball and to also track back, make runs and passes.”