Nottingham Forest signs Ivory Coast defender Diomande from Sporting CP for reported £34m
Nottingham Forest have signed 22-year-old defender Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP on a four-year contract with a one-year option for a reported £34m. Diomande, who played 132 times for Sporting and won the domestic double and Copa da Liga, becomes Forest's third summer signing.
Nottingham Forest have secured Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP on a four-year contract with a one-year option, according to BBC Sport and ESPN. The deal is reported at £34m.
Diomande, 22, made 132 first-team appearances for Sporting across all competitions and represented Ivory Coast at the 2026 World Cup, where he helped the nation reach the knockout stage for the first time. He holds 15 caps for his country.
The defender was a key member of Sporting's domestic double-winning squad in the 2024-25 season and reached the Champions League quarterfinal with the Lisbon club. Diomande has also won two league titles and the Taça de Portugal with Sporting, according to ESPN's reporting. He moved to Sporting in January 2023.
Diomande won the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Nottingham Forest teammate Ibrahim Sangaré, per ESPN's account.
Forest's acquisition of Diomande marks the club's third summer signing. The club previously brought in Portuguese midfielder Gustavo Sá and Austrian midfielder Xaver Schlager, who joined on a free transfer from RB Leipzig, according to ESPN.
Espn's reporting notes that Diomande and Real Madrid's recent signing Yan Diomande, who joined Los Blancos from RB Leipzig, are not related despite sharing a surname and representing the same nation.
The brief sources do not detail the specific conditions or bonus metrics within the £34m figure, nor do they clarify whether this represents a guaranteed base or includes add-ons. Which clubs held competing interest in Diomande is not stated in either source.
Ousmane Diomande, 22, joins Nottingham Forest from Sporting CP on a four-year deal plus one-year option for £34m.
Diomande arrives at Forest with tournament experience at club level (Champions League quarterfinal) and international level (World Cup knockout stage and Africa Cup of Nations winner). Watch for his integration into Forest's backline and how his physical profile complements the team's defensive setup through the season.
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