Toure 'much better player than I was', says ex-Socceroo Djite

Former Socceroo Djite has labelled Al Hassan Toure "a much better player" than he was and insists the 19-year-old won't be swayed by the hype, after his spellbinding display in Wednesday night’s 4-0 FFA Cup final slaying of Melbourne City.

Al Hassan Toure celebrates Source: AAP

With six goals in all competitions for the Reds in just seven appearances, Toure - whose family hail from West Africa - left the field at Coopers Stadium draped in a Liberian flag and in tears, after scoring and having a hand in two others.

The teenager is just over two months into a three-year contract - initially on scholarship terms - and doesn’t even have an agent.

Djite - who amassed nine Socceroos caps and played in Turkey, Korea, Indonesia and the A-League - knows all about the pitfalls facing promising young prospects but insists humble Toure will keep his feet on the ground.

“He’s a much better player than I was and should have a much better career than I did," Djite said.

“He’s made a very good impression early on - of course we’re happy with him. The whole state’s happy with him.

“The good thing is he has a good head on his shoulders and is a humble kid.

“The future looks bright for him and we’re lucky to have him on a longer term deal.

“It’s normal for the media to hype up good young players - they’re few and far between and we’ve got some of the best ones in the country in our squad.”

Though confident Toure - with whom he shares the same African heritage - can deliver on his promise, Djite has heard it all before and sought to inject a note of caution amid the speculation on how his career might evolve from here.

“We’ve seen it a million times before: ‘This player is going to be this, this players going to be that’,” he said.

“Here in Australia we get all excited and they don’t end up doing much at all.

“So we have to be careful. He’ll get the right advice and the protection he needs at this club.

“I’ve fielded a lot of calls today on ‘where’s he going next?’ and ‘what’s he going to do?’ and all the rest of it.

“I was there myself once and it’s now about stringing together a series of games at a high level.

“He’s done exceptionally well in the FFA Cup and has started well in the A-League, but we’re only two games in and it’s a bit premature to look too far ahead.

“If you do that as a player then you lose sight of what’s right in front of you.

“Right now it’s important to concentrate on recovery and play the next game in three days time (away to Newcastle).

“We (Djite and coach Gertjan Verbeek) signed him for a reason, to develop his game because he still has a lot to work on.”

With Toure jumping ahead marquee signing Kristian Opseth, agents are circling looking for a slice of the action.

And Djite has warned him to beware of the “sharks”.

“I told him there are only three very good agents in Australia and he deserves to have one of them,” he said.

“He’s made it here all by himself, nobody helped him. Now all the sharks will come out of the water.

“I had the same thing when I was a player. All players that burst onto the scene have it.

“I’ve told him to keep doing what he’s doing.

“Between myself and the coach, he has more than enough support for now and they will be a time when he needs an agent. But that’s not right now.

“I know kids that are more interested in talking about having an agent than they are playing games.

“He’s just concentrating on playing the games, doing well and everything else will come from that naturally.

“Myself and the coach are acutely aware of what we need to do what’s best for him.

“I don’t want players to be here for five years - during my playing days the club sold me twice.

“I’m willing and able to facilitate moves (at the right time). I’ve been in those shoes before. I only retired nine months ago so I know the feeling of a player and I pride myself on taking care of them.”

The ingredients, according to Djite, are all there with Toure.

“He runs over the ground, he doesn’t run into the ground. He’s strong, he’s quick and mentally he’s very good,” he said.

“He’s got very good feet, he does the little rabona cutback and has a lot of party tricks in his locker.”

Whilst Djite was eligible for USA, Togo and Ivory Coast as well as Australia, he will sit down next week to discuss with Toure where his intentions might lie.

“I had similar options and always connected (most strongly) with Australia. I don’t know if he’ll be the same,” he said.

“My advice would be not to make any rash decisions.”