He is the type of defender we want at City to cover up for John Stone but unfortunately He rejected us for Arsenal’: Man city Star Ruben Diaz Confirmed His £50m international teammate have agreed personal terms to join Arsenal in January
Sporting Lisbon are open to parting ways with defender Ousmane Diomande amid interest from Arsenal, according to Portuguese publication Record (page 4).
The Gunners were keen on signing the teenager from FC Midtjylland last winter but they were beaten to his signature by Sporting, who assured him regular playing time.
Mikel Arteta’s side tried to sign him again for €35 million last summer, but Sporting rebuffed the offer. They refused to accept anything less than his €80m release clause.
It is now reported by Record that Sporting are aiming to hand a new and improved contract to the Ivorian which would extend his stay from June 2027 to June 2028.
This practically rules out the prospect of him leaving in January unless his clause is triggered.
Sporting have, however, not closed the door on his exit in the summer and the Gunners could be handed an opportunity to negotiate a lesser transfer fee for him.
Diomande could become an elite centre-back in future
The 19-year-old is a strong ball-playing central defender. This season, he has completed 90 per cent of his passes with an average of 1.7 tackles won per league game.
He has made 5.7 ball recoveries per outing and has won an impressive 65 per cent of his duels. Diomande has also made three goal contributions for Sporting.
The youngster has all the attributes to succeed in the Premier League. He is a right centre-back by trade and Arteta could see him as competition for William Saliba.
Diomande could also be paired alongside the Frenchman. He is only 19 years of age and could easily develop his understanding from the left centre-back position.
In that case, we could see one of Gabriel Magalhaes or Jakub Kiwior heading for the exit door. It could be the latter, who has been regularly linked with a Serie A return.
