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Formal or informal? It reveals much about Habib Diarra that his elation at being elevated from Strasbourg’s Under-17s to the senior squad was accompanied by anxiety over the two French words for “you.”

Would addressing new, older teammates by using “tu” be considered disrespectful? In the end, the promising talent played safe and selected the more polite “vous”. This prompted wholesale laughter from the older players who instructed him not to be so ridiculous; he was one of them now.

“Once I received the first call with the coach, I reflected and said to my parents: ‘Sunderland’s where I want to be; that’s where I want to play.’ The Premier League was always a goal of mine and the coach outlined for me a clear and interesting project.”

Roughly half a decade later, Diarra is settled in an office at Sunderland’s Academy of Light explaining why he turned down offers from, among others, several top European clubs. His natural politeness remains but it is evident that the young Senegal international and doubt are practically unacquainted. Diarra carries himself with the self-assurance befitting a player who led Strasbourg at the tender age of twenty and, only last month, returned from Morocco clutching an AFCON winners’ medal.

A Clear Project

With the groin injury that kept him out for much of the opening months of the domestic season healed, Diarra is on a quest to show exactly why he agreed to become Sunderland’s most expensive acquisition last summer. Analysts in France and Senegal queried Diarra’s surprising decision but he knew all about the manager's reputation as a gifted youth coach.

“It came as no shock by the coach’s capabilities because I already knew what he’s capable of,” says Diarra. “Playing against his teams I understood he was very good, very strong in terms of strategy. He’s someone I know is aiding my development. And although our primary aim is reaching 40 points, a place in Europe is certainly a achievable goal this season.”

A Unified Environment

Externally, the cold winter gusts and driving rain makes Wearside look as bleak as it is often stereotyped. Inside, things are considerably warmer. The atmosphere is devoid of the type of tension found in certain clubs where office workers are kept apart from first-team players. Diarra describes the environment as “really natural” and praises Le Bris’s role in its formation.

“The coach always says to us that we’re like a family here and we all fight for each other,” he says. “Each of us takes pride of each other.”

Liberty and Structure

If the structure, rigor and immense effort underpinning Sunderland’s out-of-possession shape are a proof of the head coach’s attention to minutiae, Le Bris also likes his players to use their initiative. He offers his engine room players complete licence to improvise and interchange positions.

“The coach sets his tactics out within a structure but we have freedom to play within it,” says Diarra, who prefers to be deployed as a all-action No 8. “Out on the pitch that feels good. That freedom is so important. Granit, our skipper, helps us a lot. He’s a really big player and a fantastic example.”

Journey and Adaptation

Diarra is speaking through a French interpreter but his English has progressed to the point where he can grasp most questions. He is now concentrating on acquiring the language skills to also answer them, which would be his third tongue. He is fluent in Wolof, the language he spoke in his youth in his hometown near the Senegalese capital.

His precocious maturity helped him deal with the disappointment of needing groin surgery followed by four months out of action last autumn. “Getting hurt so soon after arriving here was frustrating, for sure,” he says. “But it was up to me to manage myself.”

Diarra is now looking forward to playing in this summer’s global tournament. Given Senegal have been drawn in the same group as France, a emotional matchup awaits the former Les Bleus under-21 midfielder. “I enjoyed representing for France but my inner feeling prevailed,” says Diarra. “I have no remorse. I was born in Senegal; it fills me with pride to play for them.”

Comparable feelings apply to Sunderland. “I've settled very well,” he says. “I am really comfortable here.”