Ej Hadji Diouf joins Leeds United on non-contract basis

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.24.1.1/72650?ns=guardian&pageName=Ej+Hadji+Diouf+joins+Leeds+United+on+non-contract+basis%3AArticle%3A1786669&ch=Football&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Leeds+United+%28Football+club%29%2CNeil+Warnock+%28football%29%2CShrewsbury+%28Football+club%29%2CCapital+One+Cup+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Unclassified%2CNot+commercially+useful&c6=Staff+and+agencies&c7=12-Aug-11&c8=1786669&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&c42=Sport&h2=GU%2FSport%2FFootball%2FLeeds+United" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">• Senegalese makes substitute appearance against Shrewsbury<br />• Neil Warnock previously referred to Diouf as a 'sewer rat'</p><p>Leeds United have signed the former Liverpool and Bolton striker El Hadji Diouf on a non-contract basis.</p><p>The 31-year-old Senegal international trained with the club this week and his signing was confirmed before Leeds' 4-0 victory in Saturday's Capital One Cup match against Shrewsbury at Elland Road, in which Diouf made a 76th-minute substitute appearance.</p><p>The move comes as some surprise, given the comments made about Diouf by Neil Warnock, the Leeds manager, when he was in charge of Queens Park Rangers. In a third-round FA Cup tie in January 2011 between QPR and Blackburn Rovers, the Senegalese was roundly condemned for apparently taunting QPR's Jamie Mackie after the winger sustained a broken leg, a charge Diouf denied.</p><p>After that FA Cup match, Warnock said: "I can't abide people like that. I don't know why he wants to take on the world every week. For many years I have thought he [Diouf] was the gutter type – I was going to call him a sewer rat but that might be insulting to sewer rats.</p><p>"I think he is the lowest of the low and I can't see him being at Blackburn much longer because I can't see Steve Kean putting up with someone like that in the dressing room when he is trying to form a new image for Blackburn. I think he will be the first to go and good riddance – I hope he goes abroad because I won't miss watching him. He is a nasty little person."</p><p>Time, and perhaps circumstances, appear to have softened Warnock's opinion. "He trained with us on Thursday and Friday and I will make a decision on him before next weekend because if I sign him [permanently] I will want him to be involved against Wolves," the Leeds manager said.</p><p>"We have no money at the moment so he won't be retiring on the wages we can offer, but he is available on a Bosman transfer and he has genuine quality. He has always been a wild card and we have had our moments in the past, but I met him at a function a few weeks ago, I told him what I disliked about him and how I felt he could improve and it was a good conversation.</p><p>"I also spoke to a few people who know him well and they told me how good he is in the dressing room."</p><p>Diouf has made over 300 appearances in English football, after starting his career in France. He spent nine years in the Premier League with Liverpool, Bolton, Sunderland, and Blackburn.</p><p>He also had a loan spell with Rangers before joining Doncaster in the Championship last season. Twice African Footballer of the Year, Diouf made 23 appearances for Doncaster, but could not prevent the Yorkshire side from relegation.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/leedsunited">Leeds United</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/neil-warnock">Neil Warnock</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/shrewsbury">Shrewsbury</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/capital-one-cup">Capital One Cup</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /><img width='1' height='1' src='http://guardian.co.uk.feedsportal.com/c/34708/f/639039/s/2249c00b/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/139263125231/u/49/f/639039/c/34708/s/2249c00b/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/139263125231/u/49/f/639039/c/34708/s/2249c00b/a2.img" border="0"/></a><img width="1" height="1" src="http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/139263125231/u/49/f/639039/c/34708/s/2249c00b/a2t.img" border="0"/>
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