Former West Ham winger quietly finds new club after announcing Newcastle United exit
Amadou Diallo has signed for French club Bordeaux following his release from Newcastle United.
The 21-year-old joined from Premier League counterparts West Ham United and spent two years on Tyneside. His contract expired on June 30 and hadn’t found a new club - until now.
Diallo largely featured for the under-21s but was called up to Eddie Howe’s squad on a handful of occasions. That led to him making his senior debut as a late substitute in United’s 4-1 win at home to Chelsea last November.
“My time at @nufc has come to an end,” the former England youth international wrote. “Firstly, I would like to thank the club for giving me the great opportunity of playing for them.
“I would also like to give a massive thank you to the fans for their support as I really enjoyed representing the club.”
The winger initially attracted interest from a number of Football League, National League and Scottish League clubs but has opted for an eye-catching move to France. Diallo trained with his new teammates for the first time on Tuesday and could make his debut against Bourges this weekend.
Bordeaux remains one of France’s most well-known clubs, despite losing its professional status in July and dropping into the fourth tier amid financial troubles.
The fall of Bordeaux
Bordeaux finished 12th in Ligue 2 last season but financial issues saw the Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion (DNCG) impose a relegation to the third tier. They initially appealed the decision amid takeover talks with Liverpool’s Fenway Sports Group owners but accepted it when those talks broke down.
Two days later, it was announced they would become an amateur club for the first time in almost 90 years after filing for bankruptcy.
Bordeaux then went into receivership after a decision taken by the city's local commercial court in order to "allow (them) a season in the amateur National 1".
However, the federal financial watchdog DNCG decided to relegate the club a further division to the fourth tier as per the French league's (LFP) regulations, which stipulate a club in receivership must be "demoted to the division immediately below the one for which it would have qualified for the following season".
It is a sad fall for the former six-time champions of France, who faced Newcastle in the Europa League just over a decade ago. The Magpies beat Bordeaux 3-0 at St James’ Park in the group stage before losing the reverse meeting 2-0.