Brighton told to take transfer action on £51m Arsenal and Newcastle United target

Brighton & Hove Albion are being told to act fast if they want to land Ousmane Diomande, one of their reported transfer targets.

Tipsbladet, a newspaper in Denmark is reporting that the Seagulls have an interest in signing Diomande. They aren't alone in their interest however as German giants Bayern Munich have also taken a liking to the centre back.

Diomande is subject of transfer interest from clubs in England and on the continent. Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle United have been credited with interest, whilst Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are also being linked.

He's said to be in high demand, and Bayern have apparently made an enquiry. Sport Witness say that after the enquiry by Bayern, that Brighton will need to act fast if they are to sign him this month.

The interest in the player comes after Igor Julio was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign. Defensive reinforcements could be sought to fill in the gap left by the Brazilian.

Ousmane Diomande's asking price

Diomande plays for Portuguese giants Sporting CP, and they aren't willing to sell their player on the cheap. Arsenal and Chelsea were both said to have made a £51m offer for the Ivorian back in March 2024, but they were hoping for a fee of around £69m.

A BOLA, a newspaper in Portugal claim that Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, and also Manchester United remain interested in signing Diomande, but Bayern are also in the race. There was a release clause of around €80m (£67m) for Diomande, but that appears to have dropped. There's a possibility that he could be allowed to leave for a fee between €50m (£42m) and €60m (£51m).

Another outlet CaughtOffside reports that Diomande’s preference is to play in the Premier League. With several of the big six tracking Diomande, Brighton have an uphill battle on their hands to land the highly-rated defender.

His career to date

Diomande is a 21-year-old centre back that was born in the Ivory Coast. He moved to Denmark in 2020, linking up with FC Midtjylland, but he only played for their reserve and youth teams.

Mafra, a team in the second tier of Portuguese football signed him on loan, and he caught the attention of Sporting. They decided to sign him for €7.5 million, with it potentially rising to €12.5 million in add-ons. Midtjylland will also get 20% of the profit should Sporting decide to sell.

Since joining Sporting in January 2023, he's made 81 appearances for the club. This term he's played across five competitions, and has appeared 26 times. Arsenal know exactly what Diomande is about as do Manchester City as he played against them in the Champions League with differing fortunes.

Diomande in the 15 league games he's played this term has kept nine clean sheets. Despite losing manager Ruben Amorim to Manchester United, Sporting sit top of the Liga Portugal.

To date, he has eight appearances for the Ivory Coast national team after making his debut as a 19-year-old in September 2023. He hasn't played for his country too much recently though as he played against Zambia, which was his first cap in eight matches.