Bamba Dieng: Leeds target fails Nice medical but deal could be resurrected

Leeds agreed a £10m deal to sign Marseille forward Bamba Dieng on Deadline Day; the 22-year-old was due to travel to the UK for medical until Nice stepped in; Dieng’s move to Allianz Riviera could be resurrected on Friday

Leeds target Bamba Dieng has failed a medical ahead of a proposed move from Marseille to Nice, though the deal could be resurrected on Friday, thanks to a ‘joker’ rule.

The rule means one deal between two French clubs can be done after the summer window closes and before the winter one opens.

Sky Sports News revealed on Deadline Day Leeds had agreed to a £10m fee with Marseille for Dieng and he was due to head over to the United Kingdom for a medical.

Fulham has also been in talks for Dieng in this summer transfer window but Nice, who have recruited Aaron Ramsey, Kasper Schmeichel, and Nicolas Pepe so far this summer, had appeared to steal the 22-year-old from under Jesse Marsch’s nose.

Senegal forward was in a private jet terminal in Nice earlier on Thursday and has been offered a five-year contract by the Ligue 1 club.

Leeds were so confident in signing Dieng on Deadline Day that chairman Andrea Radrizzani “welcomed” him on Twitter, while he also confirmed the club’s interest in PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo.

Radrizzani tweeted: “Let’s welcome Bamba Dieng and we will continue to work on Gapko. Now it s time to focus on the pitch and support our new project and the great job Jesse and the staff are doing.”

He admitted the club got “screwed up” as the deal collapsed but still felt Leeds had a “great” window.

“Part of the madness of deadline day,” Radrizzani said after the deal fell through. “We have been screwed up, it happens even to the best ones. We have done a great market, and planned and executed our targets at a very early stage. Keep going.”