Romelu Lukaku’s move to Manchester United has dealt Chelsea a massive blow in their pursuit for a quality striker. With Diego Costa surely on his way out, The Blues need to move fast to ensure Antonio Conte doesn’t head to preseason counting only on the services of Michy Batshuayi to lead the lines.
Chelsea have been extensively linked with the likes of Alvaro Morata and Andrea Belotti, both valued at upwards of £80m. In a post-FFP football universe, Roman Abramovich can no longer tap into his seemingly endless riches and bankroll a spending spree without caring for the net spend of the club. In such a scenario it is perhaps unsurprising that Chelsea has reportedly set their sights on Keita Balde Diao (£17m) of Lazio.
The 22-year-old Senegalese footballer, born and brought up in Spain, came up through Barcelona’s famed La Masia. Even as a 15-year-old, the youngster displayed enough quality to be considered first team material down the line. A practical prank played on his team-mate cost him his place in the team and was quickly packed off to UE Cornella, a satellite side of the club. Keita turned down the chance to return to his parent club the following season and was signed by Lazio for a fee of €300,000.
Keita, who is a left-winger by nature, is equally at ease on the right flank as well. Deployed as a secondary striker last season, the player returned impressive figures of 16 goals from 21 starts and 10 substitute appearances. The Senegalese international offers superb versatility owing to his ability to feature anywhere in a front three and has alerted a whole array of clubs interested in securing his services, notable ones being Tottenham and Liverpool.
Juventus were early movers on the youngster, with reports doing the rounds that the Turin side has agreed on personal terms with Keita Balde Diao. But Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta firmly denying any deal with the player, setting the rumour mills buzzing yet again.
“Is Keita already ours? Absolutely not,” Marotta said on Radio Rai.
“He is a Lazio player and he has another year on his contract. We’re watching him, I think he’s a good player but for the moment there’s no negotiation. We’re interested, but we’ll evaluate things calmly.”
Chelsea, reportedly tracking the player, have been served a timely boost and can look to finalising a deal. Though not a like for like replacement for Costa, Keita can provide Chelsea’s wide midfielders much needed cover in a long and arduous campaign.
Rotating between Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro last season, the addition of Keita would provide the Stamford Bridge outfit with quality alternatives in a season which would see Chelsea compete on multiple fronts. Sans Champions League football and major injuries last season, Antonio Conte was able to field an almost unchanged side week-in-week-out. The team practically wrote itself with minor tweaks depending on opposition.
The 47-year-old Italian will want additional cover for every position going into the new season and the addition of Keita Balde Diao will help Chelsea with just that. The player’s versatility is sure to come in handy in the Premier League with teams trying to man-mark Chelsea’s wingers out of the game. With Hazard and Diao exchanging flanks at will, Chelsea could add another dimension to their gameplay come August.
