Arsenal have been handed a boost in signing Ousmane Diomande with Sporting Lisbon lowering their asking price for him, according to Record.
The Gunners were initially interested in signing him from Norwegian club FC Midtjylland.
Sporting beat them to his signature in January last year. The Gunners made an ambitious €35 million offer to the Portuguese club last summer which was rejected.
Arsenal are yet to make a fresh move (Record page 6), but Sporting are ready to lower their demands for their prized asset this summer.
Diomande’s contract currently has a €80m release clause, but the club is prepared to accept €60m, including add-ons, to sanction his departure.
Sporting ‘will have to sell in the market to maintain the balance of their accounts’ and Diomande has been identified as the top candidate to leave.
Arsenal could revive their interest in Diomande
The Gunners were hot on the trail of the Ivorian star last year, but they have since turned their attention to alternative targets such as Ajax’s Jorrel Hato.
However, the club could revive their interest in Diomande. Gunners manager Mikel Arteta was initially keen on signing David Raya in 2021 and grabbed the opportunity last summer.
Arsenal could attempt something similar with Diomande. The young centre-back has superb distribution skills. He averaged 61 passes per league game with an accuracy of 92 percent last term.
The Ivorian won 67 percent of his duels with 5.1 recoveries and 1.6 tackles per outing. Diomande has impressed with his concentration and would be a good signing to add competition for places.
With Sporting desperate to sell before June 30, Arsenal have the chance to sign the youngster for a lower fee up front with the remaining covered by performance-based add-ons.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com.
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