FORMER Blackburn Rovers loan striker Mame Biram Diouf is close to completing a return to England with Mark Hughes' Stoke City.

Diouf had a loan spell with Rovers from Manchester United during the 2010/11 season, before moving to the Bundesliga with Hanover.

But Hughes is now closing in on a deal to sign Diouf, after two previous failed attempts to swoop for the 26-year-old Senegal international.