Newcastle United have reportedly made contact with representatives of Sporting Lisbon defender and Arsenal target Ousmane Diomande regarding a potential summer deal.
According to Football Insider, the Magpies’ are interested in signing Sporting CP’s defensive sensation Ousmane Diomande and are “ready to battle” fellow Premier League giants Arsenal for his signature.
The 20-year-old burst onto the scene over the last year as one of the emerging top talents in the European game and has been virtually ever-present for Sporting CP since joining from FC Midtjylland last January. He has made 21 appearances across all competitions this term, scoring two goals and providing one assist, helping them to the top of the Portuguese table ahead of rivals Benfica and Porto.
He also made his international debut for the Ivory Coast earlier this year and is set to feature in this month’s African Cup of Nations. Diomande’s impressive performances have not gone unnoticed among some of the biggest and richest European clubs.
The 20-year-old is being chased by Arsenal, with Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta identifying central defence as an area for improvement. Arteta can currently rely on William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as his first-choice defensive pairing, with Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu also able to deputise there.
Arsenal signed versatile defender Jurrien Timber in the summer, but he has missed the majority of the season after tearing his ACL early on.
An injury to either Saliba or Gabriel would derail Arsenal’s chances of winning major silverware. Therefore, the Gunners are trying to snare Diomande, who has been on their radar for some time now. However, it’s Newcastle who have now made the first move and started talks with the player’s agent as they look to strike a deal.
Diomande could be a stellar signing for the Magpies and will shore up their backline, which has been leaking plenty of goals in recent times. Eddie Howe has Sven Botman, Fabian Schar, Jamaal Lascelles, and Dan Burn as his central defensive options, but Diomande could swiftly emerge as the number one option to partner Botman at the heart of the St. James’s Park defence thanks to his superior athleticism and recovery pace.
That said, the report adds that Diomande will more likely be on the move at the end of the season since neither Arsenal nor Newcastle can afford to make a huge splash this month due to Financial Fair Play rules.
Sporting have been very calculated in locking the Ivorian down to a long-term deal that runs until June 2027 and has a massive £69 million release clause, insisting they will only sell him for his full purchase clause. His former club Midtjylland is owed 20 percent of any profit Sporting make from a future transfer, further complicating the matter.
