Over the course of the summer, we covered in detail Aston Villa’s alleged pursuit of Amadou Diawara, who eventually ended up signing for Napoli from Bologna.
The young defensive midfielder was apparently being tracked by a few clubs, including the Championship side, and even West Ham at one stage.
While the player was linked to Everton in the past, it wasn’t over the summer, yet that’s what Corriere dello Sport are saying on Thursday.
Looking at how well Diawara has done since his arrival in Naples, the Italian newspaper explain exactly how the transfer to the Serie A contenders happened, and it was all down to Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Recommended by Cristiano Giuntoli, the club’s sporting director, the transfer of the 19-year-old prodigy was sorted out in one simple phone call, especially once De Laurentiis caught wind of AS Roma’s, Everton’s and Villa’s interest.
Calling Bologna’s CEO, Claudio Fenucci, and their sporting director, Riccardo Bigon, De Laurentiis made an offer of €13.5m + €1.5m, which was accepted on the spot.
The Toffees didn’t stand a chance.
Idrissa Gueye had already signed by then, anyways.
