Bamba Dieng was the first player linked with a move to Pompey once their Championship status was secured for another season

Reported Pompey target Bamba Dieng’s protracted search for a new club appears to be over.

After months of speculation regarding the Senegal international striker’s future, new employers for the free agent look to have been found.

And it’s a destination previously not mentioned amid the plethora of sides who were supposedly keen on the former Lorient frontman.

Indeed, Serie A side Lazio have stepped up to finally strike an agreement to land the 26-year-old, who scored 10 goals in Ligue 1 last term and had the likes of the Blues, Hull City, Middlesbrough, Leicester, Oxford United, West Ham and Wrexham, alongside clubs in Germany, France, Spain and Saudi Arabia, apparently keen.

Turkish side Amedspor reportedly came close to signing the player last month. Yet that move collapsed at the very last minute after certain conditions relating to his move to the Diyarbakır Stadium changed.

Amedspor’s pain is Lazio’s game, however, as they prepare to announce Dieng’s arrival on a three-year deal.

But the player won’t come cheap despite his free-agent status.

Transfer guru Sacha Tavolieri is reporting Dieng is expected to earn a salary of €1.5m a year over the course of that agreement, which works out at about £24,648 per week before tax.

A €500,000 signing on bonus is also supposedly part of the deal that is set to be confirmed on Thursday.

Even if Pompey’s interest in the striker had been true, those are figures the Blues would no doubt have been unable to reach.

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