On Friday, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente names his squad for the UEFA Nations League quarter-final against The Netherlands, but Assane Diao won’t be there. The talented winger, who moved from Real Betis to Como during the winter transfer window, has been on La Roja’s radar, but they have missed out on him.
In recent weeks, it has been reported that Senegal have been considering asking Diao to switch allegiances. The 19-year-old, who has five goals in 10 appearances since moving to Como, has been thinking about his international future, and he has now come to a decision.
It is not good news for Spain, as Senegal have Diao in their squad for upcoming matches against Sudan and Togo. As per Marca, this has signalled that he has decided to represent the country of his birth at international level.
The report also states that Diao was not scheduled to be called up by de la Fuente for this month’s matches against The Netherlands, as he was to be included in the U21 squad instead. This could have been a contributing factor for him deciding to switch allegiances to Spain, especially as there was no clear route for him into the senior setup.
Spain are blessed with many talented wingers, including the likes of Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Ferran Torres, Yeremy Pino and Ferran Torres. This has played against Diao, who would have undoubtedly been someone for La Roja in the coming years.
It will be very interesting to see how Diao gets on with Senegal, and whether Spain will end up regretting missing out on him. For now, the former Betis winger will be focused on Como’s final match before the international break, after which he can start to think about making his senior international debut in the match against Sudan.
