Como Transfer Market: A Clue Emerges About Assane Diao’s Future
Como Transfer News: Assane Diao played a more prominent role for Como during his first Serie A season under Cesc Fabregas than in his second, so much so that he has become a hot topic of speculation regarding a potential departure. Despite this, however, the club has sent a significant signal to teams interested in the young Senegalese winger. On Thursday, the club officially announced the jersey numbers for the upcoming season—one that will mark the team’s historic debut in the Champions League. And the forward, born in 2005, seems far from being excluded from the team’s plans.
Diao, who had worn number 38 since his arrival in January 2025 and kept it for the following season as well, has in fact been “promoted” to number 11. This is no small decision, given that in recent years the number had been worn by the team’s top scorer, Tasos Douvikas, who has since become Como’s new No. 9. This is a significant signal that could catch off guard the many clubs still hoping to sign him by the end of August—ranging from Serie A (especially Atalanta and Fiorentina) to the Premier League (Everton) and La Liga (Betis).
Diao’s time with Como got off to a dazzling start in the second half of the 2024–2025 season, with 8 goals and one assist in 15 appearances after joining during the winter transfer window. His devastating impact was abruptly cut short in April 2025 by an injury to the fifth metatarsal of his right foot, which required osteosynthesis surgery, bringing that first, exhilarating experience in a Como jersey to a premature end. In the following season, physical problems continued to hamper him, limiting him to just 17 appearances and a little over 1,000 minutes on the field, though he still delivered some top-tier performances—such as the decisive tap-in in Fiorentina’s 1-1 draw against Inter last March.
Atalanta, one of the most serious suitors, had already approached Como in recent weeks. According to reports leaked in early August, the Bergamo-based club had identified Diao as the ideal player to bolster their attack, with the idea of replicating a deal similar to the one that brought Ademola Lookman to Bergamo from Leicester in the summer of 2022. In short, it was a calculated move to sign a talent in need of a fresh start, following a formula that had already proven successful. However, the new jersey number assigned by Como seems to significantly complicate Atalanta’s plans, as the club is now also grappling with a less-than-stellar start to the Conference League season under new head coach Maurizio Sarri.
The Como-Fiorentina situation, which has been intertwined in recent weeks with the negotiations for Moise Kean, could also have indirect repercussions on the Diao deal. The Como-based club had submitted an offer of 25 million plus 5 in bonuses for the Viola forward, which Fiorentina deemed insufficient, as they value the player at at least 40 million. Fabregas would like another striker to face the Champions League, and should the Kean deal fall through definitively, the resources that might have been allocated to that purchase could strengthen Como’s position in retaining Diao, who is evidently still considered central to the Larian club’s technical project.
