Reims manager David Guion is expecting Boulaye Dia to leave this summer amid reported interest from Arsenal, West Ham United and Everton, as he told Get French Football News.
No one at the Stade Auguste Delaune is kidding themselves.
They know, deep down, that Dia is merely passing through; a potentially top-class forward honing his talents at a mid-level Ligue 1 club before exploding onto the biggest of stages elsewhere.
Dia himself admitted a few weeks ago that he dreams of playing Premier League football sooner rather than later; and the Senegal international could be in luck.
Le10 Sport claims that Arsenal and Everton are keen, while West Ham also showed an interest before deciding that £12 million was too much for a man who has only been playing in the professional game for three years (France Football).
Although with Michail Antonio the only senior centre-forward in David Moyes’ squad – and even he was a winger not so long ago – the Hammers are expected to go all-out for a new number nine next summer.
And Guion is under no illusions that Dia will not be sticking around for much longer.
“He’s a lad who comes from amateur football. What’s good is that, in two years, he has adapted and understood the expectations of the professional environment really well and this year he has added efficacy,” Guion said of Dia.
“So he is now ready to go up to the next level, a European club. He needs to choose a club where he will have playing time. He can still progress in his finishing and in his game with his back to goal.
“Remember, he has come from a long way back so he has made loads of progress but there is still room for improvement, as he’ll discover when he joins a bigger club. He’s gone to another level with Reims this year, and another level again with his Senegal debut, knowing the quality of their strikers.
“Now it’s up to him to reach that next level with a European club and continue to progress.”
With 12 goals to his name this season, only Kylian Mbappe, Memphis Depay and Wissam Ben Yedder have scored more than Dia in 2020/21.
But, when asked if the 24-year-old would be better off joining a Ligue 1 rival rather than heading across the Channel, Guion’s response was emphatic.
“Yes, that would be the ideal for him because he is only 24. He’s a young striker.”
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