(Football news) The incredible story of Bamba Dieng and Leeds United is now officially over with the Senegal international returning to Marseille. He initially agreed to join Leeds on deadline day but the striker then backtracked and went to seal a move to OGC Nice before he saw his move collapse because of a failed medical. It left the Whites furious as they called off the deal and now there has been no mention whatsoever of that being revived in the future transfer window as he returned to Marseille. 

Let’s just say that no Leeds fan felt sorry for Dieng when it emerged that he had failed his medical and could not seal his move to Nice either. Before that all the fans had a genuine excitement around Bamba Dieng turning up at Elland Road on deadline day, despite him clearly not being the first choice as Cody Gakpo was the number one priority. We have to wait and watch if Leeds will go again in January to try and secure his services after the World Cup, but there looks little chance of that happening with Dieng now. Jesse Marsch and Victor Orta didn’t waste time as they moved quickly to bring in Wilfried Gnonto as their new attacker, and despite being raw at only 18 years old, his transfer was fast-tracked by the management. 

As for Dieng, you can only imagine what is going through his head now as he missed out on not only to move away from Marseille but one to the Premier League. After sitting in an airport terminal with a private aircraft on standby for a large chunk of the afternoon, Dieng decided to snub Leeds and travel to Nice for a medical, something that infuriated Jesse Marsch's side. The American wanted to strengthen his forward line on deadline day and the West Yorkshire-based club managed to swoop Willy Gnonto from FC Zurich at the last minute. Last season, Dieng managed to score 7 goals in Ligue 1 for Marseille and he made his feelings known about a move, while a deal to sign PSV forward Cody Gakpo looked very difficult to complete. Dan James, on the other hand, has joined newly promoted Fulham.

Also read: Premier League: Everton to face Liverpool in fierce Merseyside derby