Guirane N'Daw

Guirane N'Daw (born 24 April 1984) is a Senegalese football midfielder who plays for Ligue 2 club Lens. He previously played for Sochaux, Nantes and Saint-Étienne in France, for Zaragoza in Spain, for Birmingham City and Ipswich Town in England, and for Asteras Tripolis in Greece.

N'Daw began his career with Sochaux. He appeared in over 120 matches, which included the 2007 Coupe de France Final as Sochaux beat Olympique Marseille on penalties, and scored five goals for the club before moving to Nantes in 2008. After Nantes were relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of his first season with the club, N'Daw joined Saint-Étienne on loan for the 2009–10 Ligue 1 season. The deal included a clause by which the move would be made permanent if Saint-Étienne retained their top-flight status. After a successful campaign, the loan was made permanent for a fee of €4m. On 24 January 2011 N'Daw joined Spanish club Real Zaragoza on loan until the end of the season.

On 23 August 2011, N'Daw joined English Championship (second-tier) club Birmingham City on loan until January 2012, with an option to extend the contract until the end of the season. He made his debut for the club in a 3–1 defeat to Braga in the group stages of the Europa League. After several Europa League appearances, N'Daw finally made his Football League debut as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 defeat at Hull City in December. He established himself alongside Keith Fahey in Birmingham's midfield, and shortly before he left for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, his loan was extended to the end of the season.

Following Senegal's early elimination from the tournament, N'Daw's form and fitness levels dipped. He suffered recurrent hamstring injuries, including one sustained after 67 minutes of the visit to West Ham United in early April, in which he produced a strong performance protecting his defence. He returned for the play-off semi-final at Blackpool alongside Jordon Mutch, also coming back from injury, but was "rusty and lacked sharpness to impose", and the pairing gave the ball away too much. In the home leg, he came on for the injured Jonathan Spector, and helped his team stage a recovery from two goals behind to draw the match but lose the play-off on aggregate. Over the season, he made 29 appearances, of which 19 were in the league, without scoring.

N'Daw joined English Championship club Ipswich Town on 24 August 2012 on loan for the 2012–13 season.

After his Saint-Étienne contract expired, N'Daw signed a one-year deal with Greek Superleague club Asteras Tripolis on 4 September 2013.

N'Daw first played for the Senegal national football team in 2004. As of August 2011, he had 39 caps for his country and had scored three goals. He was named in the 23-man squad for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, and played in two of their three group match defeats as Senegal failed to qualify for the later stages of the tournament.

Sochaux

• Coupe de France: 2007