Scout Report – Keita Balde Diao
With a mix of Senegalese parentage, and birth in Spain. Lazio’s 22 year old winger Keita Balde Diao was one among the string of La Masia’s African graduates, and probably the only one to get into the spotlight, owing to his career choices.
The winger left Barcelona for a meagre fee, to Lazio, after someone at the club decided to punish him for putting ice into his teammate’s bed as a practical joke. Keita was sent away to tiny Cornella at the age of 15, scored tons of goals, and Barca wanted to sign him back a year later. They were astounded to hear that the player refused. He felt mistreated and chose not to return.
He was considered a top prospect at Barcelona’s La Masia academy, but it was in the 16/17 season that Keita began to grow into the player he can be, guiding Lazio into Europe. The winger finished the season with 16 goals and 6 assists, his best ever direct goal contribution in a single term—for context, he scored 4 and laid on 7 in 2015/2016.
A versatile attacker by nature, Keita has played the majority of his career as a winger, before hitting red hot form last season when utilised as a central striker. From 31 league appearances last season, Keita managed 16 goals – a feat that is remarkable considering that ten of his appearances have come from the bench and that he only completed 90 minutes, 5 times.
Keita is naturally powerful and explosive, possessing the pace to burst away from opponents which makes him ideally suitable to playing for a counter-attacking team.
Keita is a quick winger with wonderful close control, whose movements are unpredictable for defenders. He is not a good finisher though, and his tactical intelligence leaves a lot to be desired. Keita’s defensive contribution somewhat improved under Inzaghi at Lazio but is still insufficient in the extreme, while his discipline has always been questionable. He is often late for training, and the club considered fining him again last month after he didn’t return on time from his birthday celebrations in Barcelona.
Keita’s contract with Lazio is due to expire at the end of June next year and the vultures are already beginning to circle. It is likely that the Premier League’s top six clubs are all keeping a keen eye on his progress.
At just 22 years of age, Keita has amassed about 150 senior appearances for Lazio, scoring and assisting a total of 60 goals. Keita has shown some serious potential, and has performed beyond expectations at Lazio, considering that he was not an undisputed starter last season.