Man United agree on Atalanta prodigy after missing out on Diaby

Manchester United Premier League

Manchester United moved to Amad Diallo after missing out on Moussa Diaby

Reports reveal that Diallo was not United’s preferred target at first.

Manchester United reached an agreement to sign Amad Diallo from Atalanta last month, but he wasn’t their primary target.

According to reports, United opted to move for Diallo after missing out on then target Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.

However, the Bundesliga club eventually blocked the departure of the 21-year-old although United were willing to pay up to 45m euros for the transfer.

With both Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland, two key players, leaving at that time, Leverkusen weren’t ready to lose another one.

Even Leverkusen’s Sporting Director Rudi Voller stated that Dibay was among the few players in the club targeted by European clubs.

Voller said,

“It was not only Havertz this summer. There were three, four other players targeted by European clubs. Moussa Diaby was among them.”

Hence, Man Utd turned their attention towards Diallo, who has agreed to move to Old Trafford in January.

The Ivorian youngster has been cited as one of the brightest talents, having made his first-team debut with Atalanta in 2019.

Atalanta skipper Papu Gomez has previously spoken highly of Diallo, even drawing comparisons with Lionel Messi.

Gomez said, “He’s a future star, trust me,” Gomez said. “During our training sessions he plays like Messi! You can’t stop him, he’s unbelievable, our centre-backs have serious problems when he is on the pitch. He’s fantastic.”

Man Utd also signed another youngster Facundo Pellistri on the deadline day of the summer transfer along with Edinson Cavani and Alex Telles.

In fact, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men chased their long-time target, Jadon Sancho, throughout the window but failed to reach an agreement with Borussia Dortmund. Instead, whether it was a blessing in disguise or not, United managed to add two young talents in the form of Pellistri and Diallo.