Man City front queue for Europa League side’s second most valuable player as talks await

Manchester City are standing out as suitors for Sporting CP defender Ousmane Diomande, a report explaining his value has revealed.

The way Diomande has developed in Lisbon makes him one of the best value-for-money signings any major side has made over the past 12 months.

Sporting bought him from Midtjylland in January for €7.5m rising to €12.5m. Even if they have to pay all the bonuses in the end, they got a good deal for him.

Diomande’s release clause is €80m – the joint second highest in the Sporting squad – and that is the price his current employers are referring to ahead of the transfer windows in 2024.

According to A Bola, Man City are one of the main admirers of Diomande, which is further proof of just how much his stock has risen in 2023.

The Champions League holders do not want to meet his release clause, which equates to around £68.6m, though.

IN DEPTH – Who is Chelsea and Arsenal target Ousmane Diomande?

Sporting will stand firm by sticking to the €80m valuation in January and could ask for something similar in the summer.

It means they should be able to keep Diomande for the full season, during which they are participating in the Europa League as well as their domestic competitions.

In the meantime, clubs will no doubt be keeping an eye on how Diomande is doing.

According to the Portuguese report, his other suitors include Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle.

In a further attempt to keep them at bay, Sporting want to renew the length of Diomande’s contract in Lisbon.

Although his release clause might remain €80m, he could be tied down until 2028 or 2029, rather than 2027, if Sporting get their way.

His new deal would allow him to earn a better salary, more representative of the level he has been performing at in comparison to his teammates.

Diomande settled at Sporting

And even though it must be tempting to see your name linked with clubs as strong as Man City, Diomande is deemed to be happy to stick with Sporting for the time being so he can develop at a good rate.

After all, he is still only 19 years old and might struggle to overtake Ruben Dias, John Stones or Manuel Akanji to play as a right-footed centre-half for Man City.

Instead, he can continue to build up his reputation with Sporting before choosing his next step.

In theory, a role might emerge sooner for him at Man Utd – whose Raphael Varane is facing an uncertain future – or Newcastle, where one of the transfer tasks under consideration is finding a long-term successor to Fabian Schar.

At Chelsea, meanwhile, Diomande could eventually take over from Thiago Silva, as TEAMtalk sources explained a couple of months ago.

But for now, his commitments are in Portugal.

READ MORE: Man City target Messi-like attacker with rising release clause, as deal for ‘undroppable’ star paves way