Saunders nets Diouf ahead of Boro game

The former Liverpool player has signed on a three-month loan deal.

Saunders saidL “I know he’s been training at West Ham and Wigan so I’ve monitored that hoping they weren’t going to sign him,” Saunders told Sky Sports News. “West Ham offered him a deal I think and we’ve managed to persuade him to come and play for us.

“He’s a brilliant signing for us. He’s won African Player of the Year twice which is no mean feat considering some of the players they’ve got over there.

“He played for Rangers last season and hopefully he can come in and try and help us and take on board what I’m trying to do for the club.

“Hopefully he likes it and he stays. We cannot afford to pay ridiculous wages so we’ve signed him at a reasonable wage for this short period and hopefully he’ll get us some points.”

The Senegalese international, a free agent after being released by Blackburn Rovers, trained with West Ham United last week but was not offered a deal by manager Sam Allardyce.

That re-opened the door for Rovers, who first expressed an interest in the 30-year-old over a month ago.

Significantly, Diouf’s agent is Willie McKay, who has recently been given a key role in transfer deals at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Saunders had only one fit striker available against Coventry on Saturday as Billy Sharp was unavailable due to ‘family matters’ and loan signing Jon Parkin has gone back to Cardiff.

Although the Rovers manager refused to comment on the identities of his targets, he stressed that he had ‘loads of irons in the fire’.

“We need players all over the pitch but a striker is a priority,” he said. “The players I am asking to come are top players but I have to persuade them to come and play for us.

“We have loads of irons in the fire and I need to do something quickly because we are looking a bit short. The lads need a bit of help and I am working 24 hours a day, using my contacts, to get in the best players I can.”

Former French international Pascal Chimbonda and Congo international Herita Ilunga have already joined Rovers on short-term deals while former England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland played once on loan before returning to Wigan Athletic with a back problem.

“I am trying to bring in players who have played in the Premiership and higher up,” added Saunders. “They will come and play for us with a bit of hunger and move us up the league.”

Saunders confirmed that Sharp’s absence was ‘100 per cent’ due to a personal problem and was unrelated to the possibility of a move.

Both Ipswich Town and Southampton failed in bids to sign Sharp last summer and there is growing pressure on Rovers to reduce their £8m wage bill.

Whether Sharp will be back in contention for tomorrow’s game remains to be seen with Saunders saying only: “I hope he will be back but we will still have to get someone in. He wasn’t right to play on Saturday.”

Saunders wanted to extend Parkin’s loan deal until the January transfer window but Rovers were unable to agree a deal on his wages with Cardiff.

Striker Chris Brown, who has been out of action for over two months with a knee injury, is also back in training and will soon provide another attacking option.

A goal from James Hayter secured Rovers a 1-1 draw against Coventry and ended a sequence of three consecutive defeats.

“Both teams are struggling and it was important not to lose,” said Saunders. “This is a bit of a transitional period because I am still learning about my players.

“We just have to keep picking points up while I am learning because eventually I will get it right. We dug a result out on Saturday and if we go into Tuesday’s game and get a win, this will be regarded as a good result.”