Charlton close in on Traore deal

Charlton tonight were on the brink of signing defender Djimi Traore from Liverpool, according to the player’s agent.

Iain Dowie, the new manager at The Valley, has promised more signings this week and Traore is in line to be the first.

The 26-year-old defender, who was born in France but has played international football for Mali, looked set to be pushed to the fringes of Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool squad in the coming season after the signing of left-back Fabio Aurelio from Valencia.

No details of a fee have been made public, but agent Willie McKay revealed Traore was having a medical at Charlton, prior to signing for Liverpool’s Barclays Premiership rivals.

“Djimi is currently at Charlton having a medical and all should be tied up soon,” McKay told skysports.com.

“Djimi is looking forward to the prospect of joining Charlton and playing regularly.”

Traore was a £500,000 buy from French club Laval in 1999 and played in the final as Liverpool won the 2005 Champions League.

Dowie believes there will be several new arrivals in the coming days, with Charlton due to play Utrecht in their final pre-season match on Friday.

“I’d be surprised if we don’t have three or four bodies over the line by the time we play Utrecht,” Dowie said at the weekend.