One of Nottingham Forest's newest signings has revealed how a phone call with Sadio Mane made it easy for him to choose Senegal over France.
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The Tricky Trees bought big in the past transfer window in an effort to retain their Premier League status come the end of the season, and one of their newest acquisitions was Moussa Niakhate, with the two-time European champions paying Mainz €10 million (R173 million) for the 26-year-old's services.
Having made the switch from Germany to England at club level, the central defender recently completed a switch of international allegiance too.
Having been called up by Aliou Cisse for the first time for Senegal's upcoming friendlies against Bolivia and Iran this month, Niakhate decided to represent the reigning champions of Africa instead of the French national team in June, crediting Bayern Munich's Mane for helping him make the decision.
"It's true that Sadio contacted me, and it touched me," the ex-Metz player, who represented France at youth level, told L'Equipe.
"It touched me because we know the player he is, he's not just the best African player, he's one of the best players in the world.
"When a player like that, of that standing, comes to you... it's something exceptional. He asked me if I intended to play for Senegal, if I had the motivation to defend the Lions.
"Of course, I told him what was on my mind and he received it very well, he was very happy. Behind, he spoke to the coach about it.
"When Sadio came to see me and said 'Moussa, I would like you to come and help us because we have big goals', I was surprised.
"It shows the person he is. I don't think I need to praise him more yet, we all know him.
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