Nottingham Forest lodge £32 million bid for Ousmane Diomande

Nottingham Forest have submitted a £32 million bid for Sporting CP defender Ousmane Diomande, according to the Telegraph.

The Tricky Trees are also close to completing a deal for Austria international Xaver Schlager.

Forest are in advanced negotiations with Sporting as they look to finalise an agreement for the Ivory Coast centre-back during their pre-season training camp in Portugal.

The 22-year-old has emerged as the club’s leading defensive target after new manager Oliver Glasner made strengthening the rearguard a priority.

Glasner is planning to implement a three-man defence, with Forest identifying Diomande as the ideal option to operate on the right side of the back three.

Diomande combines physical dominance, composure in possession and top-level experience, making him an ideal cornerstone for Forest’s new-look defence.

The Premier League club have monitored the highly-rated defender for more than a year and believe now is the right time to make their move.

Sporting value Diomande at around £35m and discussions between the clubs are progressing positively.

The Ivory Coast international, who shares a dressing room with Forest’s Ibrahim Sangare at international level, is one of the most exciting young defenders in European football.

Forest are also expected to complete the signing of Schlager within the next 48 hours.

The 28-year-old is travelling to the club’s Algarve training base for a medical before signing an initial two-year contract as a free agent.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall is another target, while talks continue over new deals for Neco Williams and Sangare.

Europe’s elite, including Chelsea, Arsenal, and Paris Saint-Germain, have tracked Diomande for several seasons.

His signing would underline their ambition under Glasner.