Nottingham Forest have agreed a deal to sign Sporting centre-back Ousmane Diomande after reviving their long-running pursuit.
The deal gives Oliver Glasner another building block as he prepares for his first season at the City Ground.
Forest appointed Glasner in July after Vitor Pereira guided them to Premier League safety and the Europa League semi-finals before leaving the club.
The former Crystal Palace boss has favoured a back three, making another mobile centre back an obvious priority.
Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo remain proven options, while Morato and Jair Cunha provide further depth. Diomande, however, offers the pace and confidence in possession needed to defend higher up the pitch.
Forest have otherwise remained patient in the market.
Austria midfielder Xaver Schlager became their first senior summer signing on a free transfer from RB Leipzig. The sale of Elliot Anderson to Man City for £116 million has also provided substantial room for more deals.
Diomande represents a smart piece of business.
The 22-year-old started his development in the Ivory Coast with Olympic Sport Abobo before moving to Danish club Midtjylland in 2020.
His breakthrough came during a loan at Portuguese second division side Mafra. Sporting were impressed enough to sign him in January 2023 for an initial £6.4 million.
That proved to be outstanding business.
Diomande has made 132 competitive appearances for Sporting, scoring seven goals, while helping the Lisbon club win consecutive league titles in 2024 and 2025.
He also collected an Africa Cup of Nations winners’ medal with the Ivory Coast in 2024, and while his latest campaign was disrupted by muscle problems, but he still played 31 times in all competitions.
That included nine Champions League appearances and 17 league outings.
Diomande signed a new Sporting contract until 2030 in January, retaining a £71 million release clause. Forest therefore faced difficult negotiations from the beginning.
Their pursuit appeared to have collapsed this week after reports in Portugal claimed a major disagreement had developed between the clubs.
However, talks were quickly revived and Forest have now secured the breakthrough Glasner wanted.
Nottingham Forest agree deal for Ousmane Diomande with medical tomorrow
Fabrizio Romano reports that Diomande will join now Forest as an agreement finally reached with Sporting.
The guaranteed fee is around £34 million, with The Athletic separately reporting that a further £4 million could be payable through bonuses.
Romano says Diomande will remain with Sporting’s squad for Saturday night’s opening league fixture against Estrela da Amadora.
He is then expected to fly to England on Sunday and undergo his medical before signing his Forest contract.
Sporting have already moved to replace him by agreeing a deal for Ibrahima Ba.
Diomande’s arrival will give Glasner the specialist defender required to complete a powerful back three alongside Milenkovic and Murillo.
There will be an adjustment period after moving from Portugal, particularly following last season’s injury issues, but Forest are signing a defender with top level experience, Champions League pedigree and room to develop even more.
After a transfer that appeared dead only days ago, Forest have acted decisively to land one of Glasner’s priority targets.
