At one point expected to be going to Leeds United, Bamba Dieng quickly found himself in transfer limbo towards the end of the summer.
The Senegal international was close to a transfer to Elland Road, but the whole move was hijacked by OGC Nice, only for the player to then fail his medical with the Ligue 1 side.
Once the chance of heading to Leeds and Nice disappeared, he returned to Marseille with his tail between his legs, where he was pushed to one side by manager Igor Tudor.
The forward then worked hard, gradually returning to the first-team, and showed a tremendous amount of professionalism to get back into the Croatian’s good books.
The 22-year-old has since made six appearances for the club, starting the one game in a 2-2 draw against Strasbourg, and came off the bench for the final 16 minutes of the 3-2 win against AS Monaco.
The Spaniard, speaking in a press conference, relayed by Le10 Sport, said: “We want to discuss a renewal in the coming weeks. We think that he will be an important player in the future of Marseille. We’re very happy with Bamba Dieng.
“He’s training in an impressive manner. He deserves what’s happening to him. He put himself forward to listen, with a lot of humility.”
Since signing with Marseille from Diambars FC, Dieng has scored 10 goals and assisted another three in 48 appearances.
