Named early on as a target for Brighton & Hove Albion in the transfer window, Boulaye Dia never got his move to the Amex Stadium.
Targeted by a number of clubs, the striker was given an ‘exit pass’, if you will, by Stade de Reims in France, but only if the Ligue 1 side were happy with the offer.
At first, that was only meant to be on a full transfer, but that changed as time went by, with a loan including a compulsory purchase option deemed acceptable in the final days of the window.
That never arrived from Graham Potter’s side, but that doesn’t mean they can forget about Dia forever, as they might get another chance, if they have the money, in January.
That’s what Reims general director Mathieu Lacourt told Téléfoot Chaîne, hinting an exit in the next transfer window is a clear option for Dia.
❤️ AU CŒUR DES CLUBS [#MERCATO]
« S’il y a un beau projet en janvier, Boulaye #Dia pourra bénéficier de son bon de sortie »
❄️ Mathieu #Lacourt, le DG du @StadeDeReims, laissera cet hiver la porte ouverte à son attaquant 🃏 Voire avant comme "Joker"…#TelefootLaChaine pic.twitter.com/74c6ypa91Q
— TELEFOOT LA CHAINE DU FOOT (@telefoot_chaine) October 6, 2020
He said: “Looking at our project, we have to respect the exit passes we give, so if a good project presents itself in January and it’s financially good for us, he’ll be able to make use of that pass”.
However, one big issue for Brighton in all this is Reims would also be willing to let him go before that if any French clubs, who are still allowed a ‘joker’ transfer in their domestic window, come forward with the right offer.
Lacourt added: “We can clearly let him go since, as I said, he has an exit pass. Beyond that, the idea of a paid loan is to delay the finances, but what we want is for it to a compulsory option to buy. He’s a main part of the team and it’s not acceptable for us to let him go on a loan without that mandatory option”.
That’s good news for Brighton, and they now know what they need to do in January if they want the 23-year-old.
