Football
Exclusive: Lorient Hold Out for £5m as Blackburn and Celtic Eye Striker Sambou Soumano
Lorient remains firm on their £5million valuation for striker Sambou Soumano, despite interest from multiple clubs including Blackburn Rovers and Celtic. Soumano's impressive performance in Ligue 2 has attracted suitors, with Rovers preparing an improved bid. Lorient may need to reconsider their asking price to avoid losing the player for free next summer. Qarabag FK is also pursuing Soumano, with Swansea City interested but prioritizing other targets.
FC Lorient v CA Osasuna - Friendly match 19/07/2025 by Daniel Derajinski | Getty Images
Lorient will not budge in their valuation of sought-after striker Sambou Soumano, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
The Senegalese striker scored 14 times as the French club won Ligue 2 last season.
And that has prompted a number of clubs to chase the highly-rated 24-year-old.
SportsBoom sources understand there could be as many as eight clubs vying for the player's signature.
Our sources have also been told Blackburn Rovers have seen a £2million bid, plus add-ons, rejected by the club in recent days.
Rovers’ boss Valerian Ismael wants to bring in two strikers with deadline day looming large and is preparing an improved bid for the player.
It is understood Lorient value the striker at around £5million, with no bids coming close to that valuation so far.
Rovers’ representatives saw Soumano net the first in a 4-0 demolition of Rennes at the weekend.
It is also understood Lorient want the majority of the fee for the player up front, rather than being tied up in performance-related add-ons.
But the club may need to lower their asking price or risk losing the player for free next summer with suitors far away from Lorient’s price tag.
Hot Property
A number of clubs were impressed by the player during a pre-season game with Championship side Swansea earlier this summer.
The Swans are also interested in the player, but are chasing other targets as a priority, with Celtic’s Adam Idah top of their shopping list.
Scottish giants Celtic are also in the race for Soumano.
It is understood Polish club Widow Lodz have been rebuffed in their £1.5million approach with officials discussing the possibility of a second bid.
Soumano is the number one target for Azerbaijan club Qarabag FK, who boast the additional lure of Champions League football.
Shane is an experienced sports journalist with over a decade on the front line, covering everything from football to horse racing. A familiar face in the snooker pressroom, his work regularly appears in the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, and Daily Star, alongside SportsBoom.
While snooker is where many readers know him best, cricket is his true sporting passion, though he tends to keep that side of him separate from his professional beat.
A staunch traditionalist, he’s unlikely to share your enthusiasm if you believe The Hundred is the future of Test cricket.