Aston Villa rejected the chance to sign Napoli star Amadou Diawara in 2016 – but the Serie A talent could now head to Spurs for much more money.
Mousa Dembele is in the form of his life right now.
The Belgian powerhouse has produced a series of sublime midfield performances in 2018, dominating Arsenal, Liverpool and even Juventus during last week’s 2-2 Champions League draw.
However, the fact remains that Dembele is 30 years of age now and out of contract at the end of next season. Spurs, then, are not waiting around to find a young, talented midfielder capable of learning from and then succeeding the number 19 in North London.
It appears that man could be Napoli’s Amadou Diawara. Spurs were linked with the 20-year-old in January and, according to Tuttomercatoweb, will step up their pursuit in the summer and are reportedly ready to pay £33.5 million despite the fact Diawara has not started a Serie A game since October.
However, there is no doubting that the former Bologna talent is one of Europe’s most promising midfielders, and it is difficult to criticise him for falling behind the outstanding Jorginho in Maurizio Sarri’s side.
The jury will be out on whether Spurs should sign him for £33.5 million, but there is no doubt that Aston Villa should have snapped Diawara up for less than a third of that price.
Per The Birmingham Mail, Villa’s Italian boss Roberto di Matteo had made Diawara a priority in the summer of 2016. Villa, however, snubbed him because of a £9 million asking price – less than the Midland giants paid for Ross McCormack.
Whether Diawara would have developed quite so quickly at Villa is another matter but there is no doubt that he would walk into Steve Bruce’s current side despite the fact he hardly lacks decent midfield options.
Recruitment has been a big problem for Villa in recent years and it does not reflect well that Diawara has trebled in value since they turned him down.
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