Papa's the daddy at Fulham

14 April 2012

Henri Camara knows a good player when he sees one. The Senegal international, who this week joined Southampton from Celtic, told Papa Bouba Diop in the summer that the Premiership was perfect for his domineering style of play.

Fulham and their manager Chris Coleman should be thankful that the midfielder, who turned 27 last week, took his international team-mate's advice. "Henri Camara is my best friend, we talk all the time," said Diop. "He said to me, 'You must come to England. I know what you are like, I know how you play, come to the Premiership - you will come out of your shell and explode'."

Diop has certainly illuminated Craven Cottage since joining from Lens in July, not least with his spectacular shooting. But there is much more to his game than bludgeoning 30-yard rockets past Chelsea's Petr Cech and Manchester United's Roy Carroll.

For a big man - he is 6ft 4in and almost 16 stone - Diop is at ease with the ball at his feet. Indeed there can be few holding midfielders in the Premiership who are so incisive with their passing. "I like free-flowing football and I like to receive the ball, pass it quickly and to get it back - I like to be involved as much as possible," said Diop. "You have to be confident and comfortable on the ball to be able do that."

Throw five league goals into the equation as well, including a pair ofmatch-winning headers against West Brom and Birmingham last month, and it is easy to see why Diop has emerged as Fulham's most influential player - not only in January, for which he has become the Evening Standard's Footballer of the Month, but all season. His adaption to English football has been remarkably smooth.

"When I first started playing for Fulham it's a new environment, new country, new team, I was new to the whole league so it was more about trying to feel my way around the first few games," said Diop. "But once I got through that and I felt comfortable with my game it allowed me a great deal more licence to try and progress and make my role more definitive within the team."

Tomorrow, Diop comes face to face with an opponent at Anfield whose role could not be more clearly defined - Steven Gerrard. However, Diop reacts nervously to the suggestion that the two share some similarities.

"He's a technically gifted midfielder and you can't really compare him to me, " said Diop. "Steven Gerrard is one of the best midfielders in the Premiership. He has a good strike on him, great vision and he sets up play. He's combative and he is the engine of Liverpool - I have a lot of respect for him." There is no shortage of respect for Diop either in his homeland. Having scored the goal that defeated France in the opening match of the 2002 World Cup, he enjoys hero status in Senegal. But Diop, who will play for his country against Cameroon in France next week, wants deference at club level, too.

Immediate ambitions are focused on maintaining his progress with Fulham, but Diop hopes to once more play in the Champions League, as he did with Lens.

"Of course that is something that I would want to taste again," he said. "I had the chance of playing in the Champions League and in the UEFA Cup with Lens and it allowed me to gain more experience at European level - it helped me progress." It was during those matches, against the likes of AC Milan and Bayern Munich, that Diop played some of his best football in France. However, when he left Lens, many felt that he had not fulfilled his potential. Indeed, Diop candidly accepts that claim.

"At Lens, I felt that I wanted to progress and play in the Premier League," said Diop. "There were some matches where I didn't feel comfortable and maybe I ended up motivating myself better for the bigger games. The big difference I find here is that I'm fired up for every match and I want to play well in every game."

He has certainly done so during January - a month that saw Fulham banish fears of becoming embroiled in a relegation battle. "I feel that a top 10 finish is definitely achievable," said Diop.

That will not be so for his friend Camara, who faces a fight for survival at Southampton - a deadline day transfer that Diop had no knowledge of until this interview. Fortunately for Fulham, Camara is better informed about Diop.

Papa's the daddy at Fulham

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