Bournemouth are close to completing the signing of French centre-back Bafode Diakite from Lille for about £34.6m.
Diakite, 24, will cost an initial fee of £30.3m plus £4.3m in add-ons, making him Bournemouth’s second most expensive signing.
The defender has made 85 appearances in Ligue 1 since joining Lille from Toulouse in 2022, and played 10 times in the Champions League last season.
Bournemouth broke their transfer record last season when they signed striker Evanilson from Porto for a fee that could rise to £40.2m.
Diakite is currently in the UK to complete a medical, and will become the club’s third signing of the summer after left-back Adrien Truffert and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
Nineteen-year-old forward Eli Junior Kroupi is another addition to Andoni Iraola’s squad having spent the remainder of last season on loan at Lorient after joining Bournemouth.
The Cherries have sold much of their starting defence from last season, with Milos Kerkez joining Liverpool in a £40m deal and Dean Huijsen moving to Real Madrid for £50m.
With Ukrainian centre-back Illia Zabarnyi close to joining Paris St-Germain for £63m plus add-ons, Bournemouth are keen to sign another defender before the window closes.
The south-coast club are known admirers of Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong and Sevilla centre-back Loic Bade, though the latter is reportedly set to join Bayer Leverkusen.
