Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

Arsenal ‘promise’ to make 2024 bid for new international defender they think is worth £30m

Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande and Juventus midfielder Fabio Miretti

Arsenal thought about signing Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP in the summer and will make a new attempt for his arrival in 2024, according to reports in Portugal.

Fresh from making his international debut for Ivory Coast over the weekend, Diomande is making major progress with his career. The 19-year-old joined Sporting back in January and his form could have earned him another quick transfer.

According to Record, Arsenal were willing to bid up to €35m (£30m) for Diomande in the summer. Ultimately, though, Sporting would not have seen eye to eye with them at that value.

Diomande has a release clause in his contract worth €80m (£69m). Therefore, the Lisbon-based club could hold out for a higher fee if he continues to progress with them.

They will be bracing themselves for future bids, though. The report from Record claims Arsenal have made a ‘promise’ to return with a new bid for Diomande in the summer of 2024.

Arguably, they could have done with him this summer after the new signing they did make to strengthen their defence, Jurrien Timber, suffered a serious injury just two games into his spell with the club. Furthermore, they lost a depth option by selling Rob Holding to Crystal Palace.

But for the time being, Mikel Arteta will have to rely on the other options available to him at centre-back. Specifically, those are William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Benjamin White and Jakub Kiwior.

READ MOREArsenal summer transfer window 2023 – ranking all the incomings and outgoings

Diomande still at Sporting

Meanwhile, Diomande remains under contract in Lisbon until 2027. He has played every single minute for Sporting in their first four league matches this season, so now has a total of 21 appearances for the club under his belt.

How Arsenal’s opinion of his value will change over time remains to be seen. They previously stepped back with their own interest in Diomande before Sporting bought him from Midtjylland due to costs at the time.

They have since seen enough in a short space of time to feel comfortable setting aside a fairly significant amount of money to bid for him. There is a risk they will have to save up even more, though, if Diomande continues his rise.

Other than Arsenal, he has also been linked with Chelsea earlier this year and mentioned as an option for Manchester United.