Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Man City boss Pep Guardiola
Manchester City look set to be left frustrated in their pursuit of Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande, as Arsenal are reportedly spying a colossal double swoop for both him and striker team-mate Viktor Gyokeres.
Diomande has long been linked with a move to the Premier League amid his great performances in Portugal. Despite being only 20 years of age, Diomande has established himself as a regular in Sporting’s back three, having made 19 appearances so far this season.
Total Football Analysis describe him as someone who can emerge into a ‘complete defender’, as he is aggressive, good in the air and also possesses the ability to play out from the back. It is no wonder the Premier League elite are hoping to bring him to England.
Arsenal have been tipped to sign him on numerous occasions, with it even being claimed that the Gunners have ‘guaranteed’ they will return with a new offer for him in 2024. Arsenal submitted a £30million bid for Diomande over the summer but had it knocked back by Sporting.
Arsenal recently discovered they will face intense competition for Diomande, with City and Newcastle United both joining the transfer pursuit. But it seems Pep Guardiola and Eddie Howe will miss out on the Ivorian.
As per an update from Portuguese outlet O Jogo (as cited by Sport Witness), Arsenal are firmly interested in both Diomande and Sporting centre-forward Gyokeres.
Mikel Arteta is pushing for Arsenal to sign Diomande in particular, as he has been a fan of the centre-half ever since he first broke through at Danish outfit FC Midtjylland.
While Diomande would help to bolster Arteta’s defensive ranks, Gyokeres would add more firepower to his attack. The Sweden international is deadly in front of goal, having found the back of the net 15 times in 18 appearances this term. Gyokeres was also in fantastic form last season at Coventry City, bagging 22 goals in 50 games.
Arsenal want both Gyokeres and Diomande
Much has been made of Arsenal’s striker situation, with Gabriel Jesus their current No 9 but questions arising over whether he is deadly enough to fire them to the title.
Arsenal are known to be admirers of Brentford’s Ivan Toney, but Gyokeres has now emerged as an alternative striker solution.
It will cost Arsenal big money to sign both Gyokeres and Diomande this winter, though. Sporting do not want to weaken their squad midway through the campaign, and this has prompted manager Ruben Amorim to tell interested teams that deals for his players can only be struck by paying their full release clause.
“I can’t guarantee anything, what I can say is what they tell me and that is any player only leaves through the clause,” Amorim said recently.
“It’s the only security that clubs in Portugal have. Our idea is not to sell anyone in January, because we have a full calendar, and we need all the players available. I’m calm about that.
“At this moment we are only selling due to the clause, it is a different security than last year, when [Pedro] Porro left in January [for Tottenham] when he was very important in our dynamics.”
Gyokeres has a huge €100m (£86m) release clause in his contract, while Diomande’s release clause sits at €80m (£69m). This means Arsenal will have to part with a stunning £155m to sign both players next month.
Should Arsenal decide this is too much money, then they could wait until the end of the season to bring both players in, as they will be cheaper at that point. Although, doing this would run the risk of either City or Newcastle landing Diomande first.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s Euro Paper Talk includes Arsenal battling Liverpool for the capture of a Juventus attacker.
