Imagine a player who gets a chance to play for Barcelona, well at least for their youth team and then a practical joke gets him sent out of the club to another satellite club, he impresses at the club by scoring 47 goals in one season but rejects the opportunity to go back to Barcelona and now plays in Italy.
That is the story of Keita Baldé Diao, the 20-year-old Lazio attacker has had a colourful career already and he still hasn’t hit his best years yet. Diao has been tracked for quite a while by Liverpool and Arsenal and they could be ready to make a bid for the Senegalese footballer. He could be the next big thing to come out from Italian football but what does he actually provide a team with?
Keita Baldé Diao- Fast and furious
Diao is a tricky customer to deal with; he didn’t really break into the Lazio senior team until 2013 when coach, Vladimir Petkovic started putting him on the bench for a few games. Diao all-in-all has played 40 league games for the Serie A club and has scored 6 league goals.
Diao has the ability to play in any position in the front three, though his preferred position is playing on the left wing, he is capable of playing as a right winger, a striker or a secondary striker, something that will please both Rodgers and Wenger.
His greatest asset is his speed, Diao is one of the fastest players in the Serie A and that is something which is a requirement in this day of modern football. There really is no substitute for a fast winger and one who has great dribbling ability is just icing on the cake. Diao is a great dribbler of the ball as well and he also has excellent control as well, another bonus for an attacker.
He still is a raw talent, so his crossing and passing ability and range needs a bit of work. He often tries to pick out players in the attacking third of the field but is known to be a little erratic with his passing. Another one of his negatives is the fact that he doesn’t do enough of the defensive work that is expected out of him. Though he is still 20, he does need to work on this aspect of his game.
Diao might not be the finished article at the moment but he is, just like a ton of other players in the world, one who can become better if the right guidance is provided to him. Arsenal and Liverpool will be hoping that they can close the deal on the youngster and head him into the right direction in the future.
Comments are closed.