Bournemouth sign £34m Diakite – the defender who’s also a goal threat

Bournemouth have completed the signing of French centre-back Bafode Diakite from Lille for £34.6m.

The 24-year-old will cost the Cherries an initial fee of £30.3m plus up to £4.3m in add-ons, which makes him Bournemouth’s second most expensive signing.

He made 31 Ligue 1 appearances last season as Lille finished fifth in the French top flight, and also played 10 times in the Champions League.

His arrival follows Illia Zabarnyi becoming the third key defender to leave Bournemouth during this transfer window when he joined Paris St-Germain on Tuesday.

The £57m sale of the Ukraine centre-back followed Dean Huijsen’s £50m transfer to Real Madrid and Liverpool’s £40m purchase of Milos Kerkez.

Bournemouth signed left-back Adrien Truffert from Rennes in a £14.4m deal in June and a further central defender is being sought.

The Cherries have confirmed Diakite will immediately begin working with Andoni Iraola’s squad, who face champions Liverpool in the opening match of the Premier League season on Friday.

Diakite made 112 appearances across all competition for Lille after joining from Toulouse for £2.5m in 2022.

Lille have said his 13 goals made him the highest-scoring defender in France during his three-year stay at the club.