Malian midfielder Souleymane Diarra looking at opportunities after ending Turkey stint

Malian midfielder Souleymane Diarra is on the lookout for fresh opportunities after ending his stay with Turkish Super Lig outfit Gaziantep FK.

The 25-year-old joined Gaziantep at the start of the 2019-20 season and impressed for the club, helping them finish eighth in the league. He made 27 appearances in all competitions and scored three goals for the club but decided to end his time in Turkey prematurely.

He had joined Gaziantep from Ligue 1 outfit Lens on a three-year-contract after they paid €1 million for his services after he impressed at Lens in Ligue 2. This is generally rare in Turkey where the clubs prefer to bring in overseas players on free transfers with shorter contracts.

Despite a solid season for the Turkish outfit, he decided to call time on his adventure in the country. He has negotiated termination of his contract two years ahead of its natural conclusion with the club and is now a free agent.

"Discovering the Turkish Super League with Gaziantep was a good experience, I’m now looking forward to my next chapter," he told Goal.

Diarra made his debut for Mali back in 2016 and has two international caps to his name.

There is already interest in the midfielder who trained at the Jean-Marc Guillou Academy in Mali as a youngster. Reports suggest that Ligue 2 outfits Toulouse and Troyes are interested in the Malian while Belgium's Standard Liege are also keeping an eye on him.