Middlesbrough, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion were all chasing free agent Famara Diedhiou this summer, but reports in Turkey state he is set to sign for Super Lig side Alanyaspor instead.
Middlesbrough have been long-term admirers of Diedhiou and had been keen to revisit the pursuit this current transfer window. They were joined by fellow Championship sides Swansea and West Brom in the race, but the striker now looks set to move overseas.
The reason as to why he won’t be staying in England is due to his high wage demands. The Bristol Post state that of the three second tier sides, only West Brom would be able to offer these terms and both Middlesbrough and Swansea would ultimately be priced out.
He left Bristol City at the end of his contract at the start of the month. Offers were on the table at Ashton Gate but Senegalese international decided to opt to leave the club he had been at for four years in the search for a new side to ply his trade.
That next club looks to be Alanyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig. Reports state that they have ‘agreed a deal in principle’ with the 28-year-old and something is likely to materialise in an official capacity in the coming weeks.
This means the aforementioned Championship trio will instead need to turn their attention to other targets. Middlesbrough are looking to replace both Britt Assomabalonga and Ashley Fletcher, whereas Swansea are hoping to replace Andre Ayew. West Brom do have more options in attack, but they will want to give themselves the best chance of achieving promotion at the first time of asking.
