On September 1st – transfer deadline day – Leeds and Bamba Dieng were involved in what was arguably the most bizarre story of the entire window.
The Senegal international had agreed a £9m move to Leeds, with Andrea Radrizzani even confirming on Twitter that the striker had been signed.
However, Dieng suddenly decided to change his mind after an offer from OGC Nice arrived, only for him to fail his medical at the last hour and end up staying at Marseille.
Unsurprisingly, the 22-year-old is yet to play this season following that fiasco, although Igor Tudor – his manager at Marseille – has now addressed the situation.
What’s the story?
Well, Dieng has now been reinstated to the first-team after his attempt to leave backfired.
Speaking about the situation, Tudor said: “If I have to use a word to describe it, it was a complicated summer for him, but he’s someone who’s really formidable, very kind. He’s training and is now a part of the group.”
Clearly, Dieng has been given a lifeline after messing Leeds about on deadline day.
Radrizzani even admitted that Leeds had been “screwed up” by the Senegalese forward, who really didn’t make the best choices for his career during that hectic day at the start of the month.
For his sake, we hope Dieng can continue his development in Marseille, where he was making good progress before attempting to leave on deadline day.
Leeds handled Bamba Dieng situation well
After being “screwed up” by Dieng so late in the window – as Radrizzani put it – nobody would’ve blamed Leeds for declaring their business over and packing things up.
However, the Whites still managed to complete the signing of a similar young forward in Wilfried Gnonto.
The 18-year-old, who is already an Italy international, appears to be an outstanding prospect, who has just been included among the nominees for the Golden Boy award – a prize given to the best under-21 player in Europe.
Under Jesse Marsch – a man not afraid to use young talents – the sky is the limit for Gnonto at Elland Road.
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