AS Monaco have secured the signing of Keita Balde Diao from Italian club Lazio for an initial fee of around €30m.
The Senegal international has put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Principality club and will wear the number 14 shirt from the ongoing campaign.
"I am very pleased to join AS Monaco, a club with a great history. I am very happy to be here and I look forward to starting to play. Many players and friends spoke to me about the club, the spirit of the group and the team. When you are offered the opportunity to come here, you accept right away. This is the right project for me. I am very happy to join a strong group, with great players who had a great season last year,” he told the official club website.
The Senegalese footballer is likely to take up the position left by Kylian Mbappe, who is on the cusp of sealing a move to Paris Saint-Germain. The teenager is expected to join Les Parisiens on an initial loan with a view to a permanent £165m transfer at the end of the campaign.
Diao started out his initial career in Barcelona's La Masia academy before moving on to Lazio in the summer of 2011. The Spanish-born forward scored 16 goals and provided a further five assists in the 31 Serie A outings last season, while coming on as a regular from the substitutes' bench.
The attacker's contract at Lazio was due to expire at the end of the campaign, and this had created a dispute with the club's hierarchy. Diao was offered to the likes of Milan, Napoli and West Ham United, who were all willing to match his €30m, but he was pushing for a move to Juventus which never came about. Eventually, the youngster has secured a fresh challenge with Monaco where he has been joined by former Inter Milan striker Stevan Jovetic.