Amadou Diawara, one of Serie A’s biggest stars, was reportedly on his way to Aston Villa last summer after they agreed a fee.
It seemed too good to be true when Tuttosport claimed that Aston Villa had agreed a fee of £14.7 million for one of Europe’s brightest midfield talents. Then again, maybe it was.
With a number of the continents biggest clubs linked, the recently relegated club making a huge bid for Bologna starlet Amadou Diawara always seemed to fall into the ambitious category. Despite just one season in Serie A, the teenage midfielder displayed all the qualities of a potentially world class central midfielder, his composure in possession and reading of the game belying his 18 years.
He’d certainly have been a better signing than Aaron Tshibola.
Therefore, few could be surprised when Diawara instead moved to last season’s Serie A runners up, Napoli, rather than Roberto Di Matteo’s Villa.
The Guinean, who was playing for San Marino in the Italian third tier just two seasons ago, has only been handed nine Serie A starts by coach Maurizio Sarri but his development has continued unabated.
Big game player
And he has starred on the biggest of stages too. Playing a major role in Napoli’s 3-0 battering of Inter Milan in February, Diawara was simply superb sitting in front of the defence, his awareness in and out of possession knitting together countless moves and slaloming effortlessly past the visitor’s midfield.
He stood out in Napoli’s unfortunate 3-1 Champions League round-of-16 defeat against Real Madrid at the Stadio San Paolo, outshining Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
As such, he would command a fee far higher than £14.7 million these days. And though Aston Villa’s pursuit appeared doomed from the beginning, you could hardly blame them for trying.
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