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El-Hadji Diouf,3 Bolton Wanderers

El-Hadji Diouf

Born: Dakar, Senegal, 15th January 1981

International Honours: Senegal Full, African Player of the Year 2002,2003

Position: Forward

Squad Number: 21

Former Clubs: Sochaux (France), Stade Rennes (France), Racing Club Lens (France), Liverpool

El-Hadji Diouf became Bolton's record signing when moving to the Reebok Stadium on a permanent basis from Liverpool in the summer of 2005. The fee remains undisclosed but it is beleived to be £500,000 more than the £3.5 million which the club paid to Wimbledon for Dean Holdsworth in 1997.

The quick footed Senegalese international had previously spent a highly successful, yet contraversial loan spell with the club in the 2004-2005 season.

Diouf had been pushed into the cold at Liverpool following a disagreement with former Reds manager Gerard Houllier, so Sam Allardyce had no hesitations in bringing the twice African Player of the Year to Bolton once Rafael Benitez had decided that he too did not want the striker at Anfield.

This proved to be another masterstroke signing by wheeler dealer Allardyce as he managed to get the former Lens and Sochaux player back at the top of his game and playing good football again.

The 24-year old took some time to get the goals, but once he did, they proved to be more than important as they helped the club gain wins over Newcastle United, Birmingham City and perhaps contraversially at Blackburn Rovers when he scored in the final minute of the game having tapped home the rebound from a penalty miss that was awarded dubiously to begin with.

Perhaps his most important strike of the season came against Premiership strugglers West Bromwich Albion around the winter. The Albion game on New Years Day 2005 saw Bolton on the back of an awful run but Diouf's late leveller turned things around for the better again and prevented the club from extending their woeful festive run

Goalscoring was not the only thing that Diouf had to offer the team, as he managed to create a hatful lot of goals and chances due to his endless running and determination.

Sadly, his excellent season was overshadowed by a number of spitting incidents and off the field discrepancies. The games against Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Birmingham had each seen the African accused by the opposition, although a couple of those claims have since been quashed as fabrication.

Bolton have since stuck by the star and he has in turn repaid them with some excellent displays which have gone a long way in helping the team into Europe for the first time in their history.

Diouf's main quality is that he gives Bolton that extra cutting edge up front alongside Kevin Davies and Stelios. The 4-3-3 formation using the Senegal star on the right of a three man attack often works well in the Premiership.

2005-2006 saw more twists and turns for the African as the Wanderers played in Europe for the first time in their history. Diouf scored the club's first ever European goal at the Reebok Stadium against Lokomotiv Plovdiv and also hit the net in the Premiership games against Newcastle United, Aston Villa and former club Liverpool but an injury picked up in the African Cup of Nations lead to a fall out with his manager in the second part of the season.

Differences where put aside in the 2006-2007 season and Diouf proved that he could also create goals as well as score them with a number of assists throughout the campaign.

He found the net in the games against Fulham, Sheffield United and West Ham United but his most crucial strikes for the season where the two he hit in the away game against Newcastle United in October.

BOLTON RECORD: 80 appearances, 17 goals

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