Leeds United's transfer deadline day striker plans in chaos after late hijack by Ligue 1 club - YEP 1/9/22
Leeds United’s transfer deadline day plans have been thrown into chaos with less than six hours left in the window after their move for Bamba Dieng was hijacked by Nice.
By Graham Smyth
Whites owner Andrea Radrizzani confirmed in a Tweet this
afternoon that 22-year-old Senegalese international Dieng was on his way from
Marseille as the forward to supplement Jesse Marsch’s attack.
Leeds have wanted a striker all summer but this week failed
to land Hwang Hee-chan from Wolves and Cody Gakpo, for whom a deal was agreed
on Wednesday night until PSV opted not to sell their star winger.
Attention turned to Dieng today and with a deal agreed for
what was a reported sum of just under €10m, Radrizzani took to social media to
ask supporters to back the incoming signing.
"Let s [sic] welcome Bamba Dieng and we will continue
to work on Gapko [sic],” the majority owner Tweeted.
"Now it s [sic] time to focus on the pitch and support
our new project and the great job Jesse and the staff are doing.”
But reports began to emerge in France earlier this evening
of a late bid by Nice to change the minds of Marseille and Dieng with a
reportedly higher offer for the striker.
And amid that noise, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano
broke the news that the Whites had broken off negotiations, with Dieng going to
Nice.
A further complication for the Whites is that Daniel James
is currently at Craven Cottage where a season-long loan deal was to be
completed, after a medical. It is not yet clear if Leeds will pull the plug on
that move in what would be an ironic twist given their own last-minute January
2019 deadline day failure to complete the winger’s signing.
