Hamed Traore, who claims to be the brother of Amad Diallo, set for Premier League move

Amad Diallo is set to be joined in English football by his brother - or is he?

Hamed Traore, who claims to be the brother of Sunderland star Amad Diallo, is on the verge of a move to Bournemouth.

The Cherries, as per 90min, have agreed a fee with Sassuolo for the central midfielder, who is two years older than Amad.

Whether or not they are biological brothers, though, was the centrepiece of a high profile investigation n Italy on the alleged trafficking of footballers from Africa to Italy.

Amad and Hamed Traore both arrived in Italy from the Ivory Coast in 2015, with Amad signing for Atalanta and Traore with Empoli.

However, they both found themselves under investigation after allegations were made that the couple claiming to be their parents when they came to Italy were not actually related to them at all.

It was at that point that the suspicions arose that they were not brothers either, and the whole thing was part of an illegal people trafficking operation.

''We have a system in this country where family members can come into the country on a family visa and that's how both brothers came here ten years ago on a family visa from the Ivory Coast,” chief prosecutor Alfonso D'Avino said at the time.

''However, we have since had information that the people who claim to be their parents may not in fact be their parents and they may not even be brothers.

''What is important to underline is that neither of the brothers are suspected of any criminality as they would both have been minors - it is the people who brought them into Italy on a family visa that are being investigated.”

It was Hamed Mamadou Traore and Marina Edwige who claimed to be the players’ parents, and interestingly Amad dropped the Traore from his name quickly after his arrival in Italy.

Although no criminal accusations were levelled at the players, they were both found guilty by the Italian FA for using false documents to register at their clubs.

“[Diallo] allowed, in order to be able to enter into his first professional contract with Atalanta, on 11 July 2018, the use of the false name Traore Diallo Amad,” the Italian FA ruled.

“Other non-registered subjects (Traore Hamed Mamadou and Teher Marina Edwige Carine) carried out acts aimed at obtaining false or altered documents to circumvent the rules on entry into Italy and membership, as a non-EU citizen already residing in Italy.

“It was found that they pretended to be the parents of the footballer, using false certificates attesting to the relationship of kinship.”

Both players were fined €48,000 and reportedly accepted plea bargains to avoid a ban.

Anyway, and interesting tale as Hamed Traore prepares to join Amad Diallo in England this month. 

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