Senegalese striker Boulaye Dia, 24, joins the Europa League winners Villareal.Dia arrived from the French side Reims and signed a five-year contract worth Sh16.3 million.He was born and raised in France, but he plays for the Senegalese national team because of his roots.When he was little, his trial in Saint-Etienne failed because his father’s car broke down, while in Lyon, he was rejected because they estimated that he would not grow up enough.Still, he somehow got to the jersey of the fourth-tier side Jura Sud Foot, but then he quit football. His father fell ill, and Dia returned home to work as an electrician to help a family going through a crisis. He occasionally trained recreationally for the local non-league side.##EDITORS_CHOICE##When he was 20, he went to trials in Wales, but they did not recognize his talent nor believed that there’s a future for him in professional football.Thankfully, the invitation from his former club Jura Sud Foot arrived at that moment. It was the club where he signed his first professional contract and scored 15 goals in 21 games in the maiden senior season. He made enough impact to be noticed by Reims’ scouts , who brought him in for petty cash.He instantly became a member of the starting XI and played regularly in the French Ligue 1. Of course, it took time to work it all out, but he showed talent in the third season. In the last campaign, he scored 14 goals, which is quite a solid output considering the quality of the league and the team itself.He immediately attracted the attention of foreign clubs such as Napoli, West Ham and Fiorentina. However, in the end, Villarreal paid the requested price, and Dia arrived at the Yellow Submarine training ground.
