Krépin Diatta lifts lid on Monaco reintegration | OneFootball

Krépin Diatta (26) has lifted the lid on his reintegration into the AS Monaco set-up. For much of the summer, it looked like the Senegal international would leave the Principality club, perhaps even on a free transfer.

Diatta has struggled for gametime at Monaco in recent months. With a wealth of attacking options at the club’s disposal, he has been used more as a back-up option at wing-back in recent times. However, there he still faced competition from Caio Henrique and Kassoum Ouattara at left-back, and Vanderson and Jordan Teze at right-back. It meant that in both of these positions, he was still a third-choice option.

Even with the closure of the transfer window in France, Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro alluded to an exit for Diatta in September. However, an injury crisis in midfield saw Teze move into midfield, and with Vanderson out, too, there was a way back in for Diatta.

Speaking while on international duty, he has detailed his return to the fold at club level. “Many think that the club pushed me to the side, but it wasn’t the case. There was just a talk in pre-season because I am an ambitious player. I am ambitious and I think that I deserve a lot of game time. It was either I played a lot, or I look elsewhere,” he began.

He added, “That is what I explained to them. I had a year left on my deal, so I offered to find a solution (which could have seen his contract terminated early). I told Monaco that I couldn’t be an important player for my national team but a substitute at club level.”

Diatta then revealed when he was reintegrated at the Principality club. “After the match against DR Congo (9th September), we spoke again with Monaco and the decision was taken to reintegrate me,” he said, adding that there was “no problem” between him and the club.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle