Liverpool named as El Hadji Malick Diouf transfer suitor as stance outlined over £14.5m offer
Liverpool are interested in signing El Hadji Malick Diouf from Slavia Prague according to the Czech club’s chairman. The Reds have been linked with a move for the 20-year-old, but they reportedly aren’t his only Premier League suitors.
Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion are also said to be interested in the left-back, while Crystal Palace have had two bids rejected for the defender’s services.
But despite insisting that Slavia are under no pressure to sell after rejecting the Eagles’ €15m and €17m offers, chairman Jaroslav Tvrdik admits they would consider cashing in if Liverpool made the same offer for Diouf.
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"Fifteen and seventeen million euros. These are not the amounts we want," he said to Kudy běžní zaíc, quoted by Infotbal. “After the departures of (Antonin) Kinsky (to Tottenham Hotspur), (Matej) Jurasek (to Norwich City) and (Aiham) Ousou to Charleroi, we have €25 million in transfer revenue, which is perhaps a record year in our entire ten-year history.
“I don't even feel the slightest pressure to sell anyone. At the same time, we don't want to weaken the defense with Malick after Tondo (Antonin Kinsky).
“So I hope he doesn't leave. We quite consciously put a high price tag on him.
"If Liverpool and Chelsea, who were also interested in him, had come with an offer of around €17-18 million, I would have hesitated to approach it differently from the perspective of promoting the club or the player's interest.
"If Chelsea comes, we wouldn't keep anyone. Nothing will change, it's just not possible objectively.
“One has to admit that the Czech league and Slavia have some limits. Even PSG, when it comes to breaking the bank, won't keep their player and he'll go to Real Madrid. We're part of a football chain and we're not at the top of it."
Slavia Prague currently sit first in the Czech First League, seven points clear of second-placed Viktoria Plzen, having won 16 and lost only one of their 19 league matches to date.
However, they have already been eliminated from the Europa League with one league phase match left to play.
Meanwhile, Diouf has made 29 appearances so far this season, returning six goals and three assists, with the majority of his game-time coming as a left wing-back.