Rose affirms interest in permanent purchase of Diallo
In an interview with the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, as relayed by club-site RBLive, Leipzig trainer Marco Rose suggested that the German Red Bulls remain very interested in pulling the purchase option for on-loan PSG defender Abdou Diallo.
Brought back to German football via a loan-deal on transfer deadline day, 26-year-old center-halve Abdou Diallo has managed to establish himself at what is his third German club. The former FSV Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund professional has made 11 appearances for RB Leipzig across all competitions, netting one goal and earning consistently high performance marks in the German press.
RB trainer Marco Rose, who slotted Diallo in as a starter in four of the squad's last five Bundesliga fixtures, recently praised the former French and current Senegalese international in an interview with the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. Rose gave every indication that Diallo would be a regular fixture in his plans once league play resumes.
"Abdou is a great guy and a good footballer who can lead a team," Rose told the paper (as quoted by RBLive), "He's at his peak age. We are very happy to think about tying him to Leipzig for longer. You can tell that he feels comfortable here."
Rose did emphasize that no firm decision had been made yet, stressing that "it's still very early and a transfer will involve several parties". Diallo will certainly not come cheap. The purchase option on his current loan deal is reported to be in the neighborhood of €20-25 million. There is also the matter of the defender's current struggle with muscular issues.
Diallo made it back in time to feature in Senegalese national team trainer Aliou Cissé's starting XI in the opening World Cup group stage fixture against the Netherlands, yet had to be subbed off shortly after the hour-mark with a hard strain in his thigh.
Further updates on Diallo, who was replaced by former German international and 1. FC Köln professional Ismail Jakobs in Monday's 0-2 loss to the Dutch, are currently pending.