Arsenal are set to provide stiff competition to Chelsea in the race to sign Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande this summer.
The Gunners currently have William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as their undisputed starters in the central defensive department.
The club have Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jurrien Timber to provide back-up, but they continue to be linked with Diomande.
According to Record (page 3), Chelsea were recently in the lead to sign the 20-year-old, who has a €80 million release clause in his contract.
The west London outfit are said to be preparing an opening offer worth €60m with the remaining €20m to be adjusted in the form of add-ons.
Arsenal are now ready to make a similar proposal on the table for the highly-rated star.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has his sights on signing Diomande as his new centre-back.
The club have informed the player’s agent and the Sporting hierarchy that they will open negotiations over a summer transfer deal soon.
Diomande would be a statement signing for Arsenal
Diomande has had a brilliant full season with Sporting. He has completed an impressive 64 passes per game with a 92 per cent accuracy.
The 20-year-old has also won 1.7 tackles per outing with 5.8 ball recoveries. He has a 64 per cent success rate when it comes to winning duels.
In our view, the Ivorian has all the hallmarks to become an elite centre-back in the long run.
He is already a strong ball-playing defender and could take the next step in his career by joining a top club in Europe’s top-five leagues.
Arsenal are now a lucrative destination amid their title quest in the last 18 months, but he may not have the guarantee of regular playing time.
Diomande could be used in rotation by Arteta with the view to becoming a regular starter in future. He would be a statement signing for the club.
If the Ivorian is eyeing guaranteed starts, he could end up moving to London rivals Chelsea.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
