Inter reach Diouf agreement with Lens

Inter have now reached a full agreement to sign midfielder Andy Diouf from Ligue 1 side Lens, according to reports from multiple outlets on Thursday afternoon.

As per La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter now have everything in place to sign the 22-year-old former Olympian for a fee of €20m plus up to €5m in bonuses.

Diouf will put pen to paper on a five year contract in San Siro, which will tie him to the club until the summer of 2030.

As Football Italia reported, there was a conference call involving representatives from Inter and Lens earlier on Thursday as the Nerazzurri pushed to complete the deal with their French counterparts.

Inter’s deal for Diouf comes after a change in strategy on the transfer market: The Nerazzurri had initially hoped to land a deal for Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, but after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations, the club have decided to focus on the signing of a new midfielder instead.

There had been links with a move for Roma’s Manu Kone, but the Giallorossi have since decided to keep hold of their Frenchman.

That has led Inter to Lens, where they have been able to strike an agreement for a maximum of €25m, around half of what Roma had originally requested for Kone.

Once the deal goes through, Diouf will become Inter’s fourth signing of the summer transfer window, following the previous arrivals of Ange-Yoan Bonny, Petar Sucic and Luis Henrique.