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Andy Diouf has long been said to have been of interest to Liverpool, but five more Premier League clubs now have an eye on the Lens midfielder
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Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion all dispatched scouts to France to watch the same player this week, according to reports. HITC write that a fleet of Premier League scouts visited Lens on Thursday evening for their Conference League qualifier first leg against Greek outfit Panathinaikos. The hosts ran out 2-1 winners despite being reduced to ten men midway through the first half. The focus of their attention was midfielder Andy Diouf, the left-footed ball-carrying midfielder who helped France to claim Olympic silver under the now-resigned Thierry Henry earlier this month. VIDEO How Arne Slot Has ALREADY Transformed Liverpool After spending time in PSG’s academy as a youngster, Diouf wound up at Rennes for the final years of his football education and made a handful of appearances for the first team. He then went out to Swiss side Basel, first on loan and them permanently after an option to buy was taken up last summer – but was immediately snapped up by Lens, for whom he played 30 games in all competitions last season. Diouf is particularly noted for his ability to carry the ball long distances and beat opponents to get into or around the box. He has previously been linked with Liverpool, too, just to add another Premier League club onto an already lengthy list. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Some inference has been drawn that Tottenham would welcome another option in midfield following Oliver Skipp’s £20m sale to Premier League rivals Leicester City – though you could also argue that they’ve sold Skipp because there wasn’t really a first-team place for him. But Diouf’s obvious ability and widespread interest suggest that lots of clubs think he might be a bit good, and we are led to believe football clubs like having good players. It’s kind of their whole thing. Diouf has another four years to run on his current deal, so he is unlikely to come cheap - especially considering Lens have commanded big fees in recent years for Seko Fofana, Lois Openda and Elye Wahi. Champion League football in the Arctic Circle? Sub-zero temperatures and less than two hours of daylight may await Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa or Arsenal (again) Manchester United report: Talks on for 'unprecedented' transfer, following midfield signing
Liverpool on verge of first Arne Slot signing after 'reluctant' agreement: report Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Join now for unlimited access Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, We Are Terriers. com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023. Liverpool work needed to hold off Juventus transfer interest in highly-rated defender: report Manchester United agree transfer deal for 'the next Yaya Toure': report Liverpool made their first signing under Arne Slot - and no one noticed Four Four Two is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. ©
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