Football
Exclusive: Ipswich Town Lead Race for Senegal Starlet Bop Gueye Amid European Interest
European clubs, including Braga, Salzburg, Villarreal, and a Norwegian Eliteserien club, are vying for the Senegalese football prodigy Bop Gueye from Oslo Football Academy. Ipswich Town are leading the race for the 18-year-old midfielder's signature. Gueye has impressed at the UEFA Friendship Cup, catching the eye of potential suitors. Club President Youssoupha Fall praises Gueye's technical skills and work rate, predicting success in Europe.
Argentina v Senegal - Group D: FIFA U-17 World Cup by Pakawich Damrongkiattisak - FIFA | Getty Images
No fewer than four European clubs have made concrete contacts with Ligue 1 side Oslo Football Academy over the prized signature of Senegalese football boy wonder Bop Gueye, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
Prominent among them are Primeira Liga side Braga, Austrian Bundesliga heavyweights Salzburg, and Spanish La Liga's Villarreal, with all of these suitors bar Ipswich Town having the chance to offer top-flight and European football next season.
However, Ipswich have emerged as the frontrunners for his signature having moved swiftly to extend an invitation to the 18-year old midfielder, to have a feel of Portman Road with a view to striking a deal as his stock continues to rise.
Gueye is regarded as one of the most talented lads to emerge from the academy since the days of Monaco's Krépin Diatta, something Norwegian tactician Tor Thodesen spoke about exclusively to SportsBoom.
"Last week, we had Cheikh Tidiane Thiam join Villarreal, and now we expect Bop to be the next to go", Tor told SportsBoom.com.
"Bop has shown some impressive maturity, and yes, it is these kinds of clubs [in the UEFA Youth League] that have asked about him."
"So far he's left every one of them impressed."
IMPRESSING AT THE UEFA FRIENDSHIP CUP
Representatives from the interested parties were reportedly in Switzerland last week to watch Senegal U-18s take on Portugal and Argentina in the UEFA Friendship Cup and Gueye was one of the standout performers, scoring against both opposition.
That has further bolstered his reputation and it is believed more sides could take notice. But Tor believes the lad is in no way distracted by such advances.
"He is an orphan. He has an older brother who cares about him, otherwise Oslo is his family", Tor added.
"And his brother live on the other side of the country, so he can’t visit very often."
"But he was really happy to be back and help the team after their international engagements. He is a very good boy, Bop. Very humble. Never takes anything for granted."
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Club President, Youssoupha Fall was optimistic Gueye would be a hit in Europe due to his unique style, but has limited the lad's access to people who just wants to 'make a deal'.
"Bop is a naturally gifted boy, you know", Fall said.
"He is very technical, and his play is the type that is a good fit for most European clubs. He can go box-to-box, he doesn't really show tired, even when he is."
Dion Lopy(Almeria), Ismaila Koulibaly (LASK), Mariano Ahouangbo (AS Soliman), Lamine Diack (Nantes), Cheick Thiam (Villarreal) and Krepin Diatta (Monaco) are just a few names to have emerged from the academy in recent years.
Since he broke loose from the shackles of long hours huddled up in a hot classroom learning Mandarin Chinese and Pinyin at the famous Confucius Institute, UNIZIK, Emmanuel Chinaza has embraced sports and football in particular, and it helped that he grew up in the football-crazy city of Anambra.