Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has revealed that an angry Leeds United decided not to go back in for Bamba Dieng after his failed medical at Nice.
On deadline day of the recently closed summer market, one of the most fascinating stories revolved around the Whites and their pursuit of the Marseille forward.
Indeed, it initially looked as though Dieng would be flying to Leeds, but after Nice came in with an offer, the striker abandoned his plans and opted for that move instead – only to fail his medical at the Ligue 1 club.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano has now explained that the Premier League club were ‘not happy’ about what had happened, so they opted against going back in for Dieng after his Nice transfer collapsed.
The journalist outlined what happened, saying: “Nice improve their bid and reach an agreement with Marseille [for Dieng]. So it’s up to the player.
“And while the player is at the airport – had a private flight ready to fly to Leeds – Leeds were convinced that the player was already travelling to England. They were waiting for him to have a medical and to sign the contract.
“But in reality, the player was still at the airport waiting for Nice. His agent reached an agreement with Leeds, so everything was ready for [him to] go to Leeds. But at the end, OGC Nice hijack the deal. Nice reached an agreement with the player and with Marseille.
“So the player leaves the airport, he’s no longer flying to Leeds, and goes to Nice to prepare the contracts and undergo the medical. But during the night before the end of the deadline day, there is incredible news – the player hasn’t passed his medical with Nice. So the deal is almost collapsed.
“Leeds decide to leave the negotiation, they don’t want the player anymore, they’re not happy with the player’s behaviour.”
Do you with Leeds went back in for Bamba Dieng?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Bamba Dieng and Leeds United…
In the end, Leeds opted to sign teenager Wilfried Gnonto on a five-year deal from FC Zurich instead. And Dieng stayed right where he was as he couldn’t finalise any exit.
However, the Whites were obviously very keen on signing the forward at one point, with majority owner Andrea Radrizzani even tweeting about how the deal was already done at one stage.
With that in mind, it’s not hard to see why the club would have felt pretty furious after being snubbed at such a late stage on transfer deadline day. And evidently, they were so unhappy they opted against going back in for Dieng when his move to Nice collapsed.
We’re sure that in the end, Leeds will have been pleased to have emerged from this rather unsavoury episode with a new striker through the doors at Thorp Arch, though whether they will be ruing Nice’s decision to hijack their original deal for Dieng remains to be seen.