"I'm told..." - Fabrizio Romano confirms Arsenal are plotting move for £68m player as Edu 'promise' revealed

Fabrizio Romano confirmed Arsenal are plotting a move for Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande.

The Gunners spent over £200million this summer on Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and David Raya, with the club hoping to go toe to toe with Manchester City in the Premier League for a second season in succession.

However, it appears Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar are still looking to add further strength in depth to their squad, with the Gunners also competing in the Champions League.

One player the club is said to have registered an interest in is Ivorian centre-back Diomande.

The 19-year-old, who according to CaughtOffside would cost as much as £68million, has garnered a lot of admiration from several clubs.

And Arsenal, who already have the likes of William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White to call upon at centre-back, are reportedly among the teams interested.

Reports in Portugal claimed that Arsenal were ready to offer £30million for the 19-year-old over the summer transfer window, a fee that was not of interest to Sporting.

Moreover, Record (via Sport Witness) claimed that Edu had made a "promise" to go back in for the Ivorian next year.

Transfer guru Romano confirmed Arsenal’s interest, but insisted no negotiations between the player and club had taken place yet.

The Italian said: “Arsenal, meanwhile, have been linked strongly with Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande by the Portuguese press.

“I’m told he’s a player they’ve been tracking for a long time, but it’s not only Arsenal.

“There are three or four clubs monitoring Diomande for the future, but it was never a negotiation this summer as he wasn’t for sale.”

Diomande quickly became a regular in the Sporting back line following his arrival from Midtjylland in January 2023, making his European debut against the Gunners in the Europa League.

Moreover, the teenager made his senior debut for Ivory Coast on Saturday in the 1-0 victory over Lesotho.

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Topics: Football, Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, Transfers

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.