Dalglish Battles Hughes And Bruce For "New Adebayor"

Sport.co.uk understands that Sunderland, Fulham, and Liverpool are in a three-way battle to sign FC Cluj forward Lacina Traore while Aston Villa are also closely monitoring proceedings with the player’s representative hopeful of his client finalizing a deal with a Premier League club.

Sunderland have emerged as a new suitor for the giant Ivorian, dubbed the “New Emmanuel Adebayor,” since the departure of Darren Bent, while Fulham’s Mark Hughes and Liverpool’s Kenny Dalglish have also stepped up their pursuit of 20-year-old.

Reports this morning had suggested Hughes had won the race to sign Traore, however the player’s agent told Sport.co.uk that no deal had been concluded, with Liverpool and Sunderland still in the race for the front-man.

Traore has been watched closely by scouts from a number of top European clubs in the last 18 months including Bayern Munich, Arsenal, while the reds, Aston Villa, Cottagers and now, the Black Cats, are the latest sides to join the chase for the giant front-man.

“There is now a lot of interest for Lacina. The situation is that we have not received the right offer for him to leave FC Cluj at this time. Thomas Boehm told Sport.co.uk.

“There are plenty of talks between clubs, but nothing concrete. There is a lot of movement at the moment, and there are not many strikers of quality available. I am hopeful that we can conclude a deal, but remember while our goal is to bring him to the UK, there is interest from abroad.

The 20-year-old 6ft 8in striker was linked heavily with a move to Arsenal in last year’s January window, however Gunner’s boss Arsene Wenger ruled out making a move for a striker having purchased Moroccan hit-man Marouane Chamakh on a free transfer in the summer.

New Liverpool Director of Football Strategy Damien Commolli is an admirer of the forward and has had scouts watch the Ivorian, while Villa boss Gerard Houllier, Cottagers chief Mark Hughes, and now Steve Bruce are also among the interested parties.

The Ivorian, who has yet to be capped by Cote d’Ivoire, began his career at ASEC Mimosas under Jean Marc Guiilou, a close friend of Wenger who has helped develop the likes of Manchester City pair Kolo and Yaya Toure, Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue, and Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou.