Wolves were keen to sign Boulaye Dia last summer but he ultimately stayed put at Salerintana – but things have now become so sour that the striker will reportedly not be considered for selection for the rest of the season.
Dia was a player Wolves attempted to land in the last summer window right at the very end, after failing to bring in Che Adams from Southampton.
It was reported that Wolves presented a loan proposal, and there was an option to buy.
Fabrizio Romano reported that Salernitana deemed this offer ‘horrible’, and their sporting director Morgan De Sanctiis slammed Wolves publicly for their conduct.
Since that happened, things have been rocky with Dia and now, there has been a pretty big development…
Former Wolves target Boulaye Dia won’t play for Salernitana for the rest of the season, after refusing to play
At the weekend, Salernitana were playing against Udinese.
Dia was on the bench and manager Fabio Liverani wanted to put him on for the final stages – but the player refused. Liverani said (as quoted by Fabrizio Romano): “I wanted him to enter in the final 7-8 minutes but he said no.”
It has since been reported by TMW that Dia will now not be considered for selection for the rest of the season.
The rift has been described as ‘a situation that cannot be reconciled’, and also ‘bitter’ for Dia, who was such a key player for the club last season.
It is even stated that Salernitana are now looking into whether they can ask for compensation for damages, and relief from payment of part of his salary.
Simply put, it is now looking highly likely that Dia will be moving on to a new club this summer.
Messy Dia situation should make Wolves think twice about any fresh swoop
There haven’t been any reports recently suggesting that Wolves are going to go back in for Dia this summer.
But the current situation with Dia at Salernitana has gotten so messy since Wolves’ approach last summer, and one has to wonder if it would really be worth a fresh pursuit.
Salernitana were left fuming with Wolves last summer for the way they came calling so late, and with a proposal they deemed to be unacceptable.
They are not likely to want to do business and will surely prefer that Dia goes elsewhere.
But Wolves also have to consider how Dia has behaved here. Refusing to play is never a good look – he surely could not have expected Salernitana to allow him to leave on an initial loan, at such a late stage of the window.
A move was never likely, but he appears to have taken the failed move quite badly.
Gary O’Neil has built incredible cohesion and team spirit in the Wolves dressing room, and he will not want any potential bad influences undoing that.