Nottingham Forest Sign Ousmane Diomandé for €40 Million
Nottingham Forest have won the race for one of Europe’s most coveted young defenders, striking a deal with Sporting for centre-back Ousmane Diomandé in a move worth €40 million to the Portuguese club.
The agreement, reported by transfer specialist David Ornstein of The Athletic, marks a major statement from Forest in a summer where they are quietly rebuilding the spine of their team.
Forest land their defensive cornerstone
Diomandé is expected to travel to England as early as Saturday for his medical. If everything checks out, the 22-year-old will sign a five-year contract and drop straight into the heart of Forest’s defence.
At 1.90m, right-footed and physically imposing, Diomandé has been one of the standout centre-backs in Portugal since arriving at Sporting in January 2023. The Lisbon club moved for him then from FC Midtjylland in a deal worth between €7.5 million and €12.5 million, with the Danish side smartly inserting a 20 per cent sell-on clause.
That clause is about to pay out. Sporting will bank a huge profit, even though they are accepting exactly half of the €80 million release clause they built into Diomandé’s contract when they extended his deal earlier this year through to mid-2030.
For Forest, the price reflects both potential and urgency. They are not buying a finished product; they are buying a defender around whom they can build.
A new-look Forest spine
At the City Ground, Diomandé will not be alone. He will link up with compatriot Ibrahim Sangaré, the former PSV midfielder who already anchors Forest’s midfield.
The plan is clear: Diomandé is expected to form part of a back three alongside Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo dos Santos, giving Forest a blend of power, aggression and ball-playing ability across their defensive line.
This move follows a calculated pattern. Earlier this summer, Forest secured holding midfielder Xaver Schlager on a free transfer from RB Leipzig, a shrewd piece of business for a player of his experience and tactical discipline. They also invested €20 million in attacking midfielder Gustavo Sá from FC Famalicão, adding creativity higher up the pitch.
Now comes the defensive pillar. With Diomandé, Forest are betting big that a young centre-back can adapt quickly to English football and anchor their back line for years.
Sporting’s summer of cash and churn
For Sporting, Diomandé’s departure is part of a remarkable summer of outbound business.
His sale becomes the club’s fourth major windfall in this window alone. Geovany Quenda has already gone to Chelsea for €50 million. Morten Hjulmand moved to Atlético Madrid for €40 million. Francisco Trincão left for Al-Ahli, also for €40 million.
The money keeps flowing. Alisson Santos’ permanent switch to Napoli brought in another €16.5 million, while Diogo Travassos joined SC Braga for €5.5 million.
Layer Diomandé’s €40 million on top of that, and Sporting’s board will be looking at one of the most lucrative windows in the club’s modern history. The risk, of course, lies on the pitch: replacing that much talent in one summer is never straightforward.
Forest, on the other hand, are gambling that this is the perfect moment to strike — to take a defender who has grown rapidly in Lisbon and drop him into a league where his next step will define not just his career, but potentially their season.
