Leeds United are on the verge of completing the signing of Marseille forward Bamba Dieng, according to various reports. A €10 million deal has been struck with the French side and Dieng is set to travel to England in the coming hours to complete a medical and finalise a move.
Victor Orta turned his attention towards the Senegal international this morning after returning from Eindhoven frustrated in his pursuit of Cody Gakpo. Dieng has been allowed to leave Marseille this summer after a contract dispute between the club and his agent.
Last season was his real breakthrough into senior football as he netted seven goals in 25 Ligue 1 apperances. Dieng is regarded as a bright young talent and so here is a look at what his former manager - Marcelo Bielsa disciple Jorge Sampaoli-, and a pundit have said about him ahead of a move to Leeds.
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After netting a brace in a 2-0 win over Monaco last season, Jorge Sampaoli discussed the ‘great potential’ in which he thinks Dieng has. He said: "No, I wasn't surprised, otherwise I wouldn't have put him on. I put him on because I thought he might hurt the opponent. He has a lot of explosiveness and a good quality of shot. He is a player with great potential that the club has.
"It's a strategy we wanted to put in place compared to Bamba, because he is a deep player and we knew that was Monaco's concern. We wanted to put him on the left so that he returned on his right foot, and his performance proves us right.
“I'm happy for this player, because he works a lot and doesn't speak. He scored two goals, but also had two strikes on the post, so he could have even more. We are happy for him and for the team.”
With Dieng on the verge of a move to Leeds, European football expert Andy Brassell his backed him to be a success in the Premier League. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Bamba Dieng has had a weird contract situation, they decided at the start of the summer because he only had a year left on his contract with Marseille that they wanted to sell him.
“They made other plans, changed coaches, they brought in Alexis Sanchez who did well in his first start for Marseille. Bamba Dieng is a young with enormous potential, capable of scoring spectacular goals.
“I think he’ll do great for Leeds and an absolute bargain. We haven’t seen too many of those with Premier League clubs this summer.”
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