Bristol pay record fee for Senegalese international

London (AFP) – Senegalese international forward Famara Diedhiou will lead second tier Bristol City’s line next season after the Championship side paid a club record £5.3million (5.9m euros, $6.8m) to prise him away from French outfit Angers.

The 24-year-old — who attracted City’s attention after scoring nine times in 36 Ligue 1 appearances for Angers last term — signed a four year contract with the west country team who flirted with relegation last season. 

His sale represents good business for Angers, who signed him from Sochaux last year for £1.36m.

“Obviously it’s our record signing, which is amazing,” Bristol head coach Lee Johnson told the club’s official website.

“Thank you to (chairman) Steve (Lansdown), the board and everybody involved in making the decisions, particularly how well (chief operating officer) Mark (Ashton) has done in this process because it’s never easy to bring in a player when the competition is so high.”

Johnson — who is having to fill the sizeable vacuum left by Tammy Abraham who on loan from Chelsea scored 26 goals in all competitions but has now moved on to Swansea — believes the six-times capped forward will justify the outlay. 

“I’m absolutely delighted,” Johnson added. “I think he’s going to be a huge player for us.

“He fits the bill for us because he’ll complement all of our strikers perfectly. He’s powerful, he’s quick and I think he’s got the potential to get even bigger and stronger physically.”