Salernitana striker Boulaye Dia believes he is back to his best after a ‘difficult’ period following that aborted late-summer switch to Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Suffering from a long and debiliting hangover following that failed – and somewhat ridiculed – Wolves bid, Boulaye Dia’s brace in the weekend clash with Cagliari served to shake off the cobwebs and clear the mind.
By the striker’s own admission, he has found it hard to rediscover last season’s stellar form in the back of that very public dalliance with a move to Molineux. Salernitana’s president, Daniel Iervolino, even went as far as to admit that Dia’s head had been turned by Wolves’ offer, Gary O’Neil’s side trying and eventually failing to snap up the Senegal international in an initial loan deal which could have turned into a £19 million permanent transfer later down the line.
Boulaye Dia back in form after Wolves miss out
Dia has since been warned to ‘forget’ about a drama-filled window and get his head in the game again. And the appointment of Filipo Inzaghi – one of the most iconic centre-forwards of the modern era – seems to have focused Dia’s mind, the former Villarreal and Reims ace snapping a two-month Serie A goal drought.
“I’m back,” a triumphant Dia tells DAZN. “The goals have arrived. I am happy for the team and to have scored at home.
“I’m better. I’m available to the coach and the team. They’ve been difficult months (since that Wolves offer).”
A £17m deal on the cards
Dia scored 16 Serie A goals last season. It is not out of the question, meanwhile, that Wolves could return with a new and improved offer in 2024. Finances allowing, of course.
Corriere dello Sport believe that Salernitana could look to tie Dia down to a new deal, albeit with a £17 million release clause inserted into his contract. That, you will have noticed, is £2 million less than the fee Wolves may have ended up paying for the silky 26-year-old had Salernitana accepted their loan-to-buy bid in August.