Inter made yet another intriguing signing in Keita Balde, their seventh signing overall. The twenty-three year old Senegalese winger returns to Italy after one year away at AS Monaco. A graduate of Barcelona’s La Masia, Keita joined Lazio’s Primavera at 16 after a brief spell at provincial club UE Cornellà.
He was promoted to the first team after series of impressive displays in the youth ranks and made his professional debut in a 3-0 win against Chievo at Stadio Olimpico. Keita astonishingly hit 16 goals in his final season with the Biancocelesti, before making a big money move to Monaco.
Stats
Name: Keita Baldé Diao
Age: 23
Position: Winger
Country: Senegal
2017/18
Appearances: 33
Goals: 8
Assists: 7
Key Passes: 22
Shots: 40
Dribbles: 35
Strengths
Keita is an unconventional forward, gifted with pace and a tremendous dribbling technique who never backs away from taking defenders on and uses his exceptional footwork to skip past barriers. A real driver of the ball that often cuts inside to either create chance for his teammate or have a go at the goal himself. Though he is naturally right footed, Keita can operate on both sides of the pitch. An absolute nuisance for defenders because of his strong penchant for scintillating runs. He also possesses a strong physique and strength
Weaknesses:
His defensive contribution is relatively poor. He rarely swings back to help out the fullbacks. Another weakness is that he lacks awareness is often caught in offside. Sometimes his runs isn’t timely enough to avoid the offside trap. Another area that needs drastic improvement is his crossing ability.
How He Fits Into Spalletti’s Tactics:
Since he is versatile, he can play in several forward positions; left wing, right wing or as a supporting striker. He mostly plays as a right winger, instigating all kinds of havoc down the flank. He often swap wings as the game progresses. He is a major catalyst during counter attacks.
What To Expect:
Keita is a fast, strong and energetic player that adds a certain amount of flare to the attack. Very skillful and isn’t afraid to show what he is capable of. He is a type of player that scores as well as assisting goal
He is young and still has a lot of room for improvement. Just like the majority of Inter’s signings this summer, he already has Serie A experience and took the league by storm his final season in Italy. He is highly motivated to begin his Inter adventure and also continue from where he left off in the 2016/17 campaign.