FC Lorient and Olympique de Marseille had agreed a deal for Bamba Dieng, but Leeds United have now swooped in and are close to signing the player, according to Foot Mercato.
Lorient were close to signing the player for a transfer fee with a high resale clause after Les Merlus saw their loan offer with an option to buy rejected.
Nice and Strasbourg also made loan proposals, but Marseille knocked them back.
Leeds have now hijacked the deal to sign the versatile attacker after failing with moves for PSV Eindhoven’s Cody Gakpo and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan.
They are in discussions with Marseille over a fee.
The versatile attacker broke through at Marseille last season and impressed under Jorge Sampaoli.
The 22-year-old Senegalese international has scored nine goals and assisted three in 46 appearances. His impressive performances and numbers did not appeal to new Marseille boss Igor Tudor.
The Croatian manager sidelined the player for no reason. The decision to drop Dieng was even more puzzling, considering he scored a hat-trick against Marignane-Gignac during pre-season. Dieng has since been out of the picture.
Despite the intervention of Leeds, it is not clear where Dieng will end up when the transfer window closes tonight. There are conflicting reports about the player’s preference.
He may decide to stay in France or opt for a more adventurous move to England. Dieng has not made a decision.
Leeds made a move yesterday to sign Gakpo. However, the Dutch international opted to stay with his boyhood club for one more season.
Netherlands boss Louis Van Gaal is believed to have helped convince the PSV captain to stay.
Leeds have responded decisively by pushing for Dieng and will be hoping they can convince Marseille with a transfer fee and Dieng about playing in the Premier League.
