Nottingham Forest appear to be on the verge of completing the signing of Ousmane Diomande from Sporting Lisbon.
As they look to kick on under new head coach Oliver Glasner, the Reds want to strengthen the spine of their team. Midfielder Xaver Schlager has already put pen to paper, arriving as a free agent, and a further four additions are being targeted.
Forest want another midfielder, a striker, a right-back and a centre-back. Diomande has been top of their list to fill the latter spot, and it looks like the club are closing in on their man.
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Reaching an agreement on the payment structure is understood to have been holding the deal up. According to the latest update from Portuguese newspaper A Bola, the two sides now just need to finalise “the payment details” to get the transfer over the line.
The report indicates Diomande will complete a move to Forest “in the coming hours”. It is said all that is left to be sorted is to “define the payment methods and bureaucratic details”.
A Bola claim the 22-year-old will cost the Reds an initial €40 million (£34m), with add-ons potentially taking it to €45m (£38.5m) and a 10% sell-on clause included. However, there is some suggestion the fee could actually be more in the region of £30m with possible bonuses taking it to £35m.
If all goes to plan and the deal gets done in time, Diomande could line up against his former club on Friday. Glasner’s men are due to round off their 12-day Portuguese training camp against Sporting that day, with the friendly taking place at the Estadio Algarve (7.45pm kick-off).
Earlier in the day, Forest will play Portimonense SAD in a behind closed doors game at 11am. Glasner is keen to share the minutes around as his players continue their preparations for the 2026/27 campaign.
Diomande has been earmarked for the right side of a three-man back line under Glasner. The Reds believe he could form part of an effective trio alongside Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo.
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