PLAYER PROFILE

Papa Bouba Diop

Position: Midfield

Height: 6'4

Weight: 13st 1lbs

Date of Birth: 1978-01-28 Dakar, Senegal

Papa Bouba Diop

Fulham completed the signing of Senegalese international midfielder Papa Bouba Diop on a four-year contract in the summer of 2004.

Cottagers boss Chris Coleman had already strengthened his midfield options with the signing of Claus Jensen from Charlton Athletic, but made it clear that he wanted to buy a more defensively-minded player after losing Sean Davis and Martin Djetou.

Diop fitted Coleman's criteria perfectly and he made his move after the Lens star failed to earn a contract during a trial spell at Portsmouth.

Diop has spent the past two-and-a-half years with Lens following a spell with Swiss outfit Grasshopper.

He is also a regular in the Senegal national team and shot to fame when he scored the winning goal against France in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup.

His first season at Craven Cottage proved to be most impressive as he became one of Fulham's most influential players. He played 35 games and scored 7 goals, including one in the 6-0 final day drubbing of Norwich.

However, he was also sent off twice and was fined by the club, along with Andy Cole, for his red in a fiery encounter with West Brom in September.

Despite this, he has still been one of Coleman's best buys and has attracted interest from big clubs. That interest continued throughout the 2005/06 season, where he scored only two goals, but was impressive despite missing a chunk of the campaign to play in the African Nations Cup.

In April 2006 he signed a new contract and proved his worth in 06/07 with 21 starts. However, such good performances attracted transfer attention and he moved on in August 2007, to Portsmouth.