Assane Diao

Last updated

Assane Diao
Personal information
Full name Assane Diao Diaoune
Date of birth (2005-09-07) 7 September 2005 (age 19)
Place of birth Ndangane  [ fr ], Senegal [1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [2]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
Como
Number 38
Youth career
Badajoz
2019–2020 Flecha Negra
2020–2021 Balón de Cádiz
2021–2022 Betis
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022–2023 Betis B 25 (6)
2023–2025 Betis 28 (3)
2025– Como 8 (5)
International career
2023 Spain U18 2 (2)
2023–2024 Spain U19 11 (1)
2023– Spain U21 4 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Winner 2024 Northern Ireland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:15, 23 February 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:47, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

Assane Diao Diaoune (born 7 September 2005) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club Como. Born in Senegal, he is a youth international for Spain.

Contents

Club career

Betis

Diao is a youth product of Badajoz, Flecha Negra and Balón de Cádiz, before moving to the youth academy of Real Betis in 2021, on a contract until 2024. [3] Originally a midfielder, his attacking skills led to him being molded in to a left winger, and he started playing with the reserves in the Segunda Federación in 2022. [4]

On 26 July 2023, Diao extended his contract with the club until 2027. [5] He made his senior and professional debut with the Verdiblancos as a late substitute in a 1–0 Europa League loss to Rangers on 21 September 2023. [6] Later that month, on 28 September, he scored his first goal on his La Liga debut in a 1–1 away draw against Granada. [7] A week later, on 5 October, he netted his first goal in European competitions in a 2–1 victory over Sparta Prague. [8] On 7 December, after coming on as a substitute, he scored his second La Liga goal, a 90+4' equalizer in a 2-2 draw against FC Barcelona.

Como

On 7 January 2025, Betis announced Diao's transfer to Italian Serie A side Como 1907. [9] [10] The fee was reported at around €12 million. [11] On 23 February 2025, Diao scored a 77th minute goal vs Napoli to secure a 2–1 win vs the league leaders. As a result, Inter Milan overtook Napoli in the table. [12]

International career

Born in Senegal, Diao moved to Spain at the age of three and has dual citizenship. He played for the nation's under-19 team at the 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. [4]

Style of play

Originally a midfielder, Diao is a strong, and powerful winger who is great at crossing the ball. Primarily right-footed, he is strong with both feet. He has a powerful technique, and strong heading ability. [13]

Personal life

Diao has a twin brother, Ousseynou, who is also a youth footballer in Spain. [13]

Career statistics

As of match played 23 February 2025 [14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Betis B 2022–23 Segunda Federación 204204
2023–24 Segunda Federación5252
Total256256
Betis 2023–24 La Liga 182317 [a] 1284
2024–25 La Liga101118 [b] 0192
Total28342151476
Como 2024–25 Serie A 8585
Career total6114421518017
  1. Five appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League.
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Spain U19

References

  1. "Assane Diao causa impacto en el Real Madrid". Estadio Deportivo. 22 May 2023.
  2. "Assane Diao -". en.realbetisbalompie.es.
  3. Carbonero, Javi (30 March 2023). "Assane Diao: la reconversión en delantero del último canterano que se ha entrenado con Pellegrini". ElDesmarque.
  4. 1 2 Hall, Andy (6 July 2023). "Liverpool and Leipzig circling for Betis pearl Diao". Diario AS.
  5. "La mejor noticia posible con Assane Diao". Estadio Deportivo. 26 July 2023.
  6. "Assane Diao, un debut valiente". ABC de Sevilla. 22 September 2023.
  7. "Granada 1-1 Real Betis: Boyé y Diao dejan en tablas un entretenido partido en el Nuevo Los Cármenes" (in Spanish). OneFootball. 28 September 2023.
  8. "Real Betis 2-1 Sparta Prague". ESPN. 5 October 2023.
  9. "El Real Betis y el Como 1907 llegan a un acuerdo para el traspaso de Assane Diao" [Real Betis and Como 1907 reach an agreement for the transfer of Assane Diao] (in Spanish). Real Betis. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  10. Ariadi, Nana (7 January 2025). "Como 1907: Official Club Statement". Como 1907. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  11. "Official: Como sign 19-year-old Diao from Real Betis". Yahoo Sports. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  12. Young, Peter (23 February 2025). "Como 2-1 Napoli – Inter have Diao to thank". Football Italia. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Alerta en el Betis por Assane Diao". Estadio Deportivo. 29 March 2023.
  14. Assane Diao at Soccerway
  15. "2024 Under-19 EURO final: Spain 2-0 France". UEFA. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.