Who is Ousmane Diomande? At just 19, Sporting have valued the Ivorian centre-back at a whopping £69M – and the defender could be tailor-made for Premier League suitors Manchester City and Arsenal 

• The Gunners are set to face competition from a number of top-flight rivals 
• The talented teenager only made the move up from Liga 2 in January 2023 
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’

Sporting Lisbon’s Ousmane Diomande could complete a phenomenal rise to the Premier League, as Arsenal look set to make another offer for the 19-year-old in January.

The defender began his career in his home country Ivory Coast, joining Olympic Sport Abobo FC in 2014 at the age of ten after being spotted at a training camp. Over the next eight years Diomande worked his way through the youth teams of the club, eventually helping the first-team gain a historic promotion to the third-tier.

He eventually caught the eye of FC Midtjylland, the Danish club which was owned by Brentford’s Matthew Benham at the time. Midtjylland have an established scouting and development process for young talented players in Africa, and use Nigerian side FC Ebedei as a feeder team as part of this.

Diomande was brought to Scandinavia to join Midtjylland’s academy in January 2022, before joining Portuguese second division side CD Mafra on loan in August – who are also owned by the club.

A day later, Diomande made his professional debut in a 3-1 loss to Oliveirense – but quickly began to impress in the Liga Portugal 2. His calmness and ability on the ball, combined with electric pace and intelligent defending made him look like a player well beyond his tender years.

Ousmane Diomande has been the focus of a number of top clubs after his rapid rise in Lisbon

The teenager made the leap from Liga 2 side CD Mafra to join Portuguese behemoths Sporting

Mikel Arteta is one of a number of Premier League head coaches impressed by the player

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The defender began to be linked to a host of clubs including Arsenal, Manchester City, and Sporting Lisbon.

Sporting reportedly made an initial offer of £4.4million for Diomande in January 2023, falling well short of Midtjylland’s valuation of £8.8million.

They were eventually able to get a deal done on transfer deadline day, however, fending off competition from the two Premier League sides.

After making 17 appearances and scoring one goal for Mafra, Diomande’s loan was ended early in order to join the historic Portuguese club on a four-year deal.

Midtjylland’s Director of Football Svend Graversen admitted the sale of the player while out on loan at a feeder club were exceptional circumstances for the club.

Graversen said: ‘Normally the aim is for our loaned players to take some steps and then return to FCM, but in this case it is a unique case where Ousmane’s development has been accelerated in an unusual way.’

Diomande’s development continued to accelerate at Sporting, with the defender quickly becoming a key part of his team after his debut appearance as a substitute against Porto in February.

Strong form led to the 19 year-old getting his first cap for Ivory Coast this September in a win over Lesotho, featuring in the middle of a back three for the Elephants.

Olympic Sport Abobo expressed their delight at the defender’s call-up, saying it gave them ‘great joy and pride to see a kid who has spent 8 years on the small sandy pitch at EPP Habitat school’ feature for his country.

Diomande even returned to the ‘small sandy pitch’ in June to help coach the young players at the club, who no doubt dream of following in his footsteps.

It’s not difficult to see why some of Europe’s elite sides have been queuing out the door to sign the young player.

In just over 18 months he has seamlessly gone from playing in the Ivorian third-division to bossing it at the back for Sporting Lisbon. Few players are capable of making such a quick and massive jump at all, let alone with such calmness at 19 years old.

Diomande maintains strong links to his native Ivory Coast and returned to coach young players

In September he received his first international cap as part of the Ivory Coast side that faced Lesotho in AFCON qualifiers

The defender would suit the way the top sides tend to play, having the pace and athleticism necessary to be able to play in a high-pressing system where quick turnovers and transitions can result in teams having a lot of space in-behind the defence. Combined with his strength and commanding build at 6ft 3in, this makes Diomande seem well suited to the intensity and pace of Premier League football.

Yet it is his quality in possession alongside this defending prowess that arguably explains why Arsenal and Man City in particular would be keen to have him in their side.

In the last year, Diomande ranks in the top four per cent of centre-backs in the world for progressive passes and progressive carries, and also boasts an excellent rate of 90.3 percent of passes completed. His ability to play under pressure and drive at the opposition team make him a modern-day ballplayer who is tailor-made for one these sides.

His £69million release clause at Sporting Lisbon should prove no obstacle to Arsenal if they really want to get the deal done in January, but they will be asking themselves why they didn’t make a stronger bid only nine months ago.

What the experts are saying

Olympic Sport Abobo President Amza Gamal backed Diomande to reach the top level from an early age after discovering him in a training centre he organised.

Gamal said: ‘Sporting is a great European club that plays good football. I’m convinced that Diomande will continue to develop and will become one of the best central defenders in the world.

‘He’s very well educated and has his head on straight. He wanted to join a project that would allow him to showcase his enormous talent, at Mafra, where he began to adapt.’

Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim holds the youngster in very high regard and stressed the competition they had to sign him.

Amorim said: ‘Diomande plays with both feet, and is very physically strong.’

The centre-back seems well-suited to the physicality of the Premier League should he move

Sporting head coach Ruben Amorin holds the talented 19-year-old in extremely high regard

The defender has also been heralded by a former coach for his ‘unusual maturity for his age’

‘He is a very talented player and most people don’t know how many clubs were after him. The truth is that we managed to get him because we took a risk by telling the kids that they’re coming to play for the first team …he’s got a lot of scope for progression.’

Former Porto midfielder Pite who captained Mafra during Diomande’s loan spell at the club believes he immediately stood out after joining from FC Midtjylland.

He told Portuguese newspaper A Bola: ‘When he arrived, he came with some teammates who were also part of the Midtjylland youth team, young kids with quality, but who had some difficulty adapting, which is completely normal for someone taking their first steps in senior football.

‘He didn’t, from the start he showed an unusual maturity for his age, and quickly adapted to our football. What was most striking was the physical presence he can impose at every opportunity and his quality with the ball and passing.’

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