BOURNEMOUTH NEAR DIAKITE DEAL! CHERRIES CLOSE IN ON £34.6M LILLE DEFENDER

Bournemouth are set to make a major defensive addition, with French centre-back Bafodé Diakité close to sealing a move from Lille in a deal worth around £34.6 million.

The 24-year-old is expected to cost an initial £30.3m, with a further £4.3m in performance-related add-ons — a fee that would make him the Cherries’ second most expensive signing, behind last summer’s club-record capture of Evanilson from Porto.

Diakité, who has featured 85 times in Ligue 1 since his arrival from Toulouse in 2022, enjoyed a strong campaign last season, appearing in 10 Champions League fixtures. He has already arrived in the UK to complete his medical and is poised to become Bournemouth’s third major signing of the window, following Adrien Truffert and Djordje Petrovic.

Teenage forward Eli Junior Kroupi has also been added to Andoni Iraola’s squad, having returned from a loan stint at Lorient after joining the club in January.

Bournemouth’s defensive overhaul continues after a summer of big-name departures. Milos Kerkez has joined Liverpool in a £40m switch, Dean Huijsen has been snapped up by Real Madrid for £50m, and Ukraine international Illia Zabarnyi is close to finalising a £55m-plus move to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Cherries have also been monitoring Chelsea’s Josh Acheampong and Sevilla’s Loïc Badé, though the latter appears bound for Bayer Leverkusen.