“Diame is out of contract after rejecting a new deal, and the Reds are set to get him on a free,” the report says. “The powerful midfielder, who joined Latics from Spanish club Rayo Vallecano, is a French-born Senegal international and can expect to double his money to £60,000-a-week if the move goes ahead.”
Diame was a regular starter at Wigan during the first half of the 2011-12 season. But he fell out of favor with manager Roberto Martinez in January 2012. He left in January to play for Senegal in its ill-fated Africa Cup of Nations campaign. Upon returning to his club, Martinez only used him as a substitute.
Diame has three seasons’ worth of experience in the English top flight, having played 96 league games since his £3.1 million ($5 million) move from Rayo in 2009. He plays as a central midfielder, usually in a holding role.
Along with Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle are rumored to be interested in the player. The Reds could be looking to move quickly for the tough-tackling Diame so as not to lose him to one of its league rivals.
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Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Catatan Bola Photo Gallery
