Bournemouth complete £34m signing of French defender Diakite
Bafode Diakite's arrival comes after Illia Zabarnyi became the third main defender to leave the Cherries during the ongoing transfer window.
Premier League side Bournemouth have sealed the signing of French centre-back Bafode Diakite from Lille for £34.6m. The 24-year-old joins the Cherries on an initial fee of £30.3m plus up to £4.3m in add-ons, making him the second most expensive signing in the club's history.
Diakite made 31 Ligue 1 appearances last season and played a key role in Lille finishing fifth in the French Ligue 1. He also featured in 10 Champions League matches for the club.
His arrival comes after Illia Zabarnyi became the third main defender to leave the Cherries during the ongoing transfer window.
The Ukrainian centre-back joined Paris St-Germain for a £57m fee to PSG on Tuesday, with his sale following the outgoings of Dean Huijsen's £50m transfer to Real Madrid and Liverpool's £40m deal to sign Milos Kerkez.
Bournemouth had earlier signed left-back Adrien Truffert from Rennes in a £14.4m deal in June. The club remains in the hunt for another central defender.
No time to settle for Diakite
Diakite will immediately begin working with Andoni Iraola's team, which faces a daunting task of playing champions Liverpool in the opening match of the Premier League season on Friday.
The Frenchman made 112 appearances across all competitions for Lille after joining from Toulouse for £2.5m in 2022.
According to club stats, Diakite's 13 goals made him the highest-scoring defender in France during his three-year spell with the club.
Bournemouth's most expensive signing came last season when they broke the bank for Brazilian striker Evanilson from Porto for a fee that could rise to £40.2m.