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Bristol City sign Senegal's Famara Diedhiou in club record deal

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Bristol City have broken their transfer record to sign Senegal international Famara Diedhiou from Angers.

The Championship side have parted with a reported £5.3 million to sign the 24-year-old, whose arrival smashes the £3.25 million the Robins paid to sign Ivory Coast hitman Jonathan Kodjia -- also from Angers -- in the summer of 2015.

Diedhiou scored nine goals in 36 top flight outings in Ligue 1 last season, having joined the Breton outfit for £1.36 million a year ago. He previously demonstrated his class in the French second tier when he scored 22 goals in 36 outings for Clermont on loan.

"I think he's going to be a huge player for us," City coach Lee Johnson told the club's official website. "He's powerful, he's quick. Now is his time to shine."

Diedhiou has the physique to thrive in the Championship, where he will look to trouble defences with his power, his aerial ability and his hold-up play.

Club CEO Mark Ashton echoed Johnson's words.

"It's big business," Ashton added. "He's someone we'd identified a while ago as having real potential to fill the front man's shoes."

Rather than replacing Kodjia, who moved to Aston Villa last year after netting 19 league goals in his maiden Championship campaign, Diedhiou is primed to replace Chelsea's Anglo-Nigerian frontman Tammy Abraham.

The troubled England U-21 international was a big hit on loan at Ashton Gate last season, scoring 26 goals across all competitions, and looks to have piqued the interest of various Premier League suitors.

Saint-Louis-born Diedhiou represented ASM Belfort, Epinal, Gazelec Ajaccio and Sochaux before moving to Angers in 2016.

The 6'2 frontman was part of the Lions of Teranga squad at the 2017 Nations Cup, where he came on as a substitute in the final group game against Algeria.