Nottingham Forest lodge £32 million bid for Ousmane Diomande

Nottingham Forest lodge £32 million bid for Ousmane Diomande

class="wp-block-paragraph">Nottingham Forest have submitted a £32 million bid for Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande, according to The Telegraph.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">The Tricky Trees are also close to completing a deal for Austria international Xaver Schlager.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Forest are in advanced negotiations with Sporting as they look to finalise an agreement for the Ivory Coast centre-back during their pre-season training camp in Portugal.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">The 22-year-old has emerged as the club’s leading defensive target after new head coach Oliver Glasner made strengthening the rearguard a priority.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Glasner is planning to implement a three-man defence at the City Ground, with Forest identifying Diomande as the ideal option to operate on the right side of the back three.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">The Premier League club have monitored the highly-rated defender for more than a year and believe now is the right time to make their move.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Sporting are understood to value Diomande between £30m and £35m, with discussions between the clubs progressing positively.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">The Ivory Coast international, who shares a dressing room with Forest’s Ibrahim Sangare at international level, is viewed as one of the most exciting young defenders in European football.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Forest are also expected to complete the signing of former RB Leipzig midfielder Xaver Schlager within the next 48 hours.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">The 28-year-old is travelling to the club’s Algarve training base for a medical before signing an initial two-year contract as a free agent.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Interest also remains in Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall, while talks continue over new deals for Neco Williams and Sangare.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Landing Diomande would be one of the standout signings of Forest’s recent history.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Europe’s elite, including Chelsea, Arsenal, and Paris Saint-Germain, have tracked the commanding defender for several seasons.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Forest moving decisively to secure his signature would underline their ambition under Glasner and demonstrate they have an exciting project.

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class="wp-block-paragraph">Diomande already combines physical dominance, composure in possession and top-level experience, making him an ideal cornerstone for Forest’s new-look defence.