Brentford tipped to land £25m forwardalso on RB Leipzig’s transfer radar for bargain fee in January.
The La Liga star has also caught the eye of Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest
Brentford have once again been linked with a move for the Real Betis youngster Assane Diao. The latest reports indicate that the Bees could well move for the 19-year-old winger a year after initially being connected with the star but they are now set to face competition from their Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest.
Feyenoord, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Getafe and FC Porto are also all said to be in the mix to take Diao away from Real Betis, according to Estadio Deportivo.
Thomas Frank’s side first emerged as an interested party in Diao in the January 2024 window but while the opinion was that the Premier League club would have been willing to pay between €20-25 million (£17-21m), the La Liga side were holding out for a figure closer to the 19-year-old’s £25m release clause.
Assane Diao in action, celebrating his team’s first goal in 2023/24 Europa League competition
Assane Diao in action, celebrating his team’s first goal in 2023/24 Europa League competition | AFP via Getty Images
At the time of the Bees initial interest, the club’s then-Sporting Director Ramon Planes said of the situation: “We are very happy with his emergence. Remember that Betis, last year, played in the youth cup final. Assane was on that team, and within that youth philosophy, we are very happy that he is in the first team. “He is in a growth process. It’s normal that there is interest, but we refer to his clause.”
Days after making this statement, Planes left Real Betis for the Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad.
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With this in mind, the reports in Estadio Deportivo add that either the Bees or Forest could well land Diao for a bargain fee and much less than Planes had suggested in his final days as Real Betis sporting director, although an exact figure is not yet known.
Born in Senegal, Diao is a Spanish youth international, making four appearances so far for the U21 squad and has been with Betis since 2021. His current contract with the club expires in 2027 but as things stand the winger will only see his time on the pitch continue to be reduced unless he secures a move across Europe in the next transfer window.
