Rumours from a couple of weeks ago that started out very vague are starting to grow more concrete.
We reported back then on the first whispers of Chelsea interest in Ousmane Diomande, the Sporting CP centre back. Today Nizaar Kinsella has written that Chelsea have already been in contact with the Portuguese club over a potential move for the 20 year old.
Kinsella calls Diomande “one of their primary transfer targets” as yet another central defender is wanted. At the moment, Sporting are apparently holding out for €80m which is the young talent’s release clause. They might well accept less, but right now they’re in a strong position, having only signed Diomande a year ago for just €7.5m.
It’s hard to see Chelsea spending too much in January, at least until Trevoh Chalobah is sold and Thiago Silva’s future is decided, but clearly the plan is to add another defender at some point.
Diomande’s teammate Viktor Gyokeres is also on the list – but with a price north of €100m, looks less likely at this stage.
