Liverpool could miss out on long-term transfer target as Manchester City and Tottenham eye Lens starlet: report

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.

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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.

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.

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