Counting 11 France U21 caps to his name at the age of 26, it became rather clear to Nottingham Forest’s Moussa Niakhaté that he wasn’t going to be making Didier Deschamps’ squad any time soon.
That’s why he decided to declare himself for Senegal, whom he was eligible for, and that decision has been rewarded by their manager Aliou Cissé.
Signed by Nottingham Forest over the summer for £9m from 1.FSV Mainz 05, the defender played in the first two games under Steven Cooper before pulling up with a hamstring injury.
That has kept him out of all the games since, including the last three losses, and the player wasn’t expected to return before mid-October.
Moussa Niakhaté 🇸🇳🇫🇷 (Nottingham Forest) aussi appelé pour la première fois en équipe nationale du Sénégal ! https://t.co/KEkrymu9lh
— Papa Mahmoud Gueye (@billmahmuud) September 16, 2022
However, the decision from Cissé to call him up could indicate he could return earlier than anticipated, as Taggat journalist Papa Mahmoud Gueye took to Twitter to reveal the Nottingham Forest player has been ‘called up for the first time for the Senegal national team’.
Now, whether he plays in the friendlies against Bolivia and Iran remains to be seen, and it’s worth pointing out that even if he does, he would still be able to switch back to France if Deschamps suddenly changed his mind, as they aren’t competitive games.
Either way, it appears Niakhaté is about to be rewarded.
EDIT: Manager Aliou Cissé acknowledged when revealing the list that Niakhaté was injured and they would assess the situation on Monday to decide whether or not the Nottingham Forest player will take part in the friendlies or not.
