HERE WE GO: Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke releases £300M for SIX new signing – as Mikel Arteta line up replacement for Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey
HERE WE GO: Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke releases £300M for SIX new signing – as Mikel Arteta line up replacement for Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey
Arsenal are reportedly close to ‘landing’ Sporting CP defender Ousmane Diomande, as per Caught Offside.
After joining the Lions from Danish side FC Midtjylland in January 2023, the Ivory Coast international has been displaying impressive performances in recent times. He guided his team to win the Liga Portugal title last term and won the AFCON with his nation last year.
The Gunners hold a long-term interest in the African as they have continuously been linked with a move for him over the last few years. But, they haven’t made a concrete approach to sign him yet.
Following Ruben Amorim’s appointment as Manchester United’s new head coach, Diomande was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford to reunite with his former manager.
However, Caught Offside claim that Man Utd aren’t actively looking to hire him and aren’t going to make any formal proposal.
Diomande to Arsenal
The report say although Arsenal previously didn’t make a move for him, they are still interested in him and are closest to ‘landing’ him. The defender has a £68m release clause in his current contract but Sporting would be open to cashing-in on him for a fee of at least £42m.
However, Chelsea are also in this race and are closest to hiring him like Arsenal. Bayern Munich are interested in him as well but the player’s preference is to move to the Premier League.
Diomande, standing at 6ft 3in tall, is a technically gifted centre-back. He is a talented player and possesses the potential to become a top-class defender in future.
However, Arsenal are already well-resourced in their defensive department so they don’t need to sign a new face in this area unless they cash-in on any of the current options.
Instead, they would be better off saving the money to purchase a new prolific goal-scorer. Following Gabriel Jesus’ injury, Mikel Arteta has been left with Kai Havertz as the only centre-forward option.
The German hasn’t been able to showcase his best consistently enough in recent times, therefore, Arteta needs reinforcements in this position to help the club achieve their lofty ambitions.
Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see whether the North London club eventually make a concrete approach to sign Diomande in January or next summer.
