Brought in by Hull City towards the end of the transfer window from Wolverhampton Wanderers for around £3.5m, Nouha Dicko hasn’t exactly hit the ground running at KCOM Stadium.
To be fair to him, the Tigers in general have struggled this season, currently sitting 17th in the Championship under new manager Leonid Slutsky, and that’s after thumping Birmingham 6-1 at the weekend.
The Mali international has failed to score in his first five appearances for Hull City, three of which have been starts, but that hasn’t stopped him from being called up to his national team’s squad for the first time in over a year.
While this might have raised a few eyebrows, the Mali caretaker manager Mohamed Magassouba quickly came to his forward’s rescue, explaining the reasoning behind his decision.
Relayed by FootMali, he said: “[He was chosen because] players in England have that desire to win, a conquering mindset. Simply being in the group, they can instil new life within the squad.
“With players from this type of league, we can have a style of play other than the one we’re used to seeing. This Mali needs a multidimensional team to rebuild itself”.
Joining the Hull City striker in being recalled after a long time out thanks to him being in England is Milton Keynes defensive midfielder Ousseynou Cissé, who arrived on a free from Tours FC in the summer.
Maybe a goal with the national team will be exactly what Nouha Dicko needs to get his Tigers’ campaign going.
At least, that’s what the KCOM Stadium faithful and Slutsky will be hoping.
