Dieng and Sato open new routes as Valencia remain distant from South America | OneFootball

According to Superdeporte, Valencia are pivoting towards Africa and Asia, with Aliou Dieng and Ryunosuke Sato shaping a new recruitment path. The shift comes as the club continues to keep its distance from South America.

Justin de Haas has been secured as the first addition for 2026/27. Dieng is due to arrive from Al Ahly, while talks over Sato of FC Tokyo are being finalised under scouting chief Lisandro Isei.

The last six years have brought a clear pattern, domestic focus, low-cost deals or loans, and targets from leading European leagues, above all LaLiga. Seventeen signings came from Spain, with others carrying experience in England, Italy, France and Germany, at nine, six, three and two respectively, plus four from Portugal, namely Ferro, André Almeida, Iván Jaime and de Haas.

The outlier was Giorgi Mamardashvili, signed in 2021 for one million euros to bolster the B team, then promoted to the first XI. Four years later he was sold to Liverpool for 30 million euros.

Dieng is viewed as a physical midfielder to reinforce Carlos Corberán’s structure after Baptiste Santamaría underwhelmed following a low-cost move from Rennes last summer. Sato, meanwhile, is very close to becoming the club’s first Japanese first team player for around four million euros, opening a door to the Asian market.

A decade on from the South American scouting of Rufete and Fabián Ayala, which brought Rodrigo de Paul and Vinícius Araújo, only a February look at free agent Renzo Saravia has broken the silence. With specialist Andrés Zamora now part of Isei’s group, time will tell if that stance changes, though Corberán wants proven options from Spain or major European leagues and those profiles come at a premium.

Source: Superdeporte