In July of 2013, as Ronnie Moore tried to build his squad for another assault on League One, Tranmere were strongly linked with a move for Inter Milan youngster Bocar Djumo, that after Sheffield Wednesday had turned down the chance to sign him.
The link came out of nowhere, Ronnie Moore himself telling the press that a loan move for the Portugese youngster was likely to happen before the league season got under way. But just who was Bocar Djumo?
Prospect in Profile: Bocar Djumo
At the time, Djumo was a 19-year-old who had attracted some high-profile attention. In 2012, he had been linked with the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United and Manchester City, but it was Inter who had won the race to sign him on a professional contract. After all, he had come through their academy.
A year on, and the Italian giants were looking to loan out the Portugal under-19 winger, and somehow, he was Tranmere bound after Sheffield Wednesday turned down the opportunity to take him.
The prospect of the pacey left-sided player bombing up the wing at Prenton Park was a fascinating one for fans, though many were still scratching their heads as to why Inter were sending such a highly-regarded player to Tranmere.
Speaking at the time, Moore said: “Inter Milan want him to play in Britain to get to know the way things are done here. We are lucky. He was going to go to Sheffield Wednesday but they have a lot of strikers there.
“He is here for a month, for us to have a look at him. If we fancy him we can take him to the end of the season, or until January.
“We have nothing to lose and maybe a lot to gain. The only cost to us is putting him in digs for a month. We may have a gem on our hands.”
So, the youngster who was plying his trade with one of Europe’s biggest clubs, apparently with the world at his feet, was set for a move to Tranmere.
What happened next to Bocar Djumo?
In true Tranmere style, things didn’t exactly go smoothly. As Rovers awaited news of the player’s arrival ahead of a pre-loan trial, the player never turned up. Ronnie Moore was perplexed, and had little to tell the press who asked each week where Djumo was.
Moore told journalists that calls to Djumo’s agent had gone unanswered, and Rovers left in limbo by a wall of silence.
“Bocar would be very happy to be able to undertake this new adventure (joining Tranmere). He also received other offers from both English clubs and from Portuguese clubs.
However, the player’s agent at the time, Marco Correia, denied this version of events, instead suggesting the problem was with Inter not having decided on the player’s destination.
Speaking in late July, 2013, Correia said: “The comments (about not answering the phone) said by Ronnie Moore is not the truth – I do answer the phone.
“We were contacted by Tranmere Rovers long ago and despite being in League One, which is the equivalent of the Italian Lega Pro, for a young ’94 class the solution seemed appropriate.
“Bocar would be very happy to be able to undertake this new adventure (joining Tranmere). He also received other offers from both English clubs and from Portuguese clubs.
“The problem is that Inter has not yet told us whether he accepts this solution or not. Maybe and justly Ausilio (Piero Ausilia, Inter Milan Technical Director) and Branca (Marco Branca, Inter Milan Sporting Director) will have other market priorities, but if they do not tell us the destination for the boy, we can do little.
“Currently Bocar Djumo is in Portugal, waiting for a destination from Inter.”
The national coverage Tranmere had received for being on the brink of signing one of Europe’s top talents went quiet, and soon after, Tranmere’s season got underway with the Djumo story becoming a distant memory. There was no sight nor sound of Djumo again, or at least not in Birkenhead.
In truth, we will never know how close Djumo came to making the switch to Prenton Park.
Just weeks after the above comments from his agent, Djumo accepted a loan move that would keep him in his native Portugal. He joined União da Madeira on loan, a move presumably favoured by Inter Milan.
However, his move to Madeira was not too successful, the youngster managing one goal in 10 appearances before the Portuguese club terminated the loan and he returned to Inter.
Djumo spent the next two years jumping between loan spells in Europe and youth team football back in Milan. He spent time in the Romanian third division with ASC Oțelul Galați, but managed just appearance.
His next move was to Malta where he had a little more success. He joined Sliema Wanderers on August deadline day in 2014, and his spell went well as he played 18 times, scoring six goals.
He would return to Italy in the summer of 2015, and with his career seemingly faltering, things would soon turn in his favour.
In November 2015, Djumo secured a new agent, joining the Golden Ball agency. Within a month, he had secured a permanent transfer away from Inter, an opportunity to kick-start his career.
Life after Inter Milan
“Bocar has everything what a modern striker should have. He is fast, strong and technically skilled. We look forward to getting him back to the competition and to our philosophy of the game.”
In December 2015, Bocar Djumo left Italy and dropped to the fifth tier of German football to sign a one-and-a-half-year contract with Inter Leipzig. It may not have been the glamorous surroundings of Milan, but the industrial city of Leipzig would become the perfect home for the youngster.
Upon signing Djumo, Inter Leipzig Head Coach Heiner Backhaus said:
“Bocar has everything what a modern striker should have. He is fast, strong and technically skilled. We look forward to getting him back to the competition and to our philosophy of the game.”
(Source: Golden Ball Football Management)
He instantly hit the ground running playing in a striking role, scoring 13 goals in his first 13 appearances. That form was rewarded with a new contract, extending his stay with the German club until June 2018. However, as his form continued, it was always going to be a struggle for Leipzig to keep him.
Now referred to as “Bocartelli”, he was named Player of the Year for the entire division in his first season at the club, scoring an impressive 25 goals in 29 games. When the transfer window opened in January 2017, Djumo had many suitors, and a transfer away was inevitable.
Later that month, Djumo left Inter Leipzig and moved up one division in to the fourth tier of German football, signing for FC Oberlausitz Neugersdorf. In the first round of Spring matches, Djumo opened his account for his new club, scoring in a victory over Hertha Berlin’s second team before being substituted later in the match to a standing ovation.
Djumo scored six goals in the remaining months of the season, helping Neugersdorf to an eighth-place finish.
This season (2017/18), Djumo – now aged 23 – has not been quite as prolific, currently having just three league goals to his name. He has, however, reverted to playing mostly back on the left wing rather than upfront where he has played much of his football in the past two years.
Who knows whether Bocar Djumo will ever reach one of Europe’s top divisions again, or whether he will play in England one day, but his nomadic journey around Europe seems to be at an end for now, and in German football perhaps he has found his niche.
So, if there is ever a time you sit there and think, “who was that guy we nearly signed from Inter, and what happened to him?”, now you know.
