Forest sign Sporting's Ivory Coast defender Diomande
Nottingham Forest have secured the signature of Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande from Portuguese club Sporting for a reported £34 million. The 22-year-old defender has inked a four-year contract with Forest, which includes an option for an additional year. Speaking about his move, Diomande expressed his enthusiasm for joining the historic club, stating, "I am very happy to be here.
It is a historic club, and it motivates me to join such a club." He added, "I believe we can achieve very good things this season and I am looking forward to meeting the players and head coach. I will give my best."
New Forest manager Oliver Glasner is expected to deploy Diomande in a 3-5-2 formation, where he is likely to partner Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo in a back three. Diomande boasts 15 caps for Ivory Coast and was part of his national team's squad at the 2026 World Cup, earning one appearance in a group-stage win against Curacao. Before joining Sporting in January 2023, Diomande had a successful career at Olympic Sport Abobo in his native Ivory Coast and FC Midtjylland in Denmark.
During his time at Sporting, Diomande played 132 first-team matches and contributed to the club's consecutive Portuguese league titles in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. He also featured in the side that reached the Champions League quarter-finals last season, albeit ultimately falling to Arsenal.
Glasner, who assumed the managerial role at Forest earlier this summer, has long admired Diomande and attempted to sign him while working at Crystal Palace. The Forest chief football officer, George Syrianos, described Diomande as a central defender with "fantastic experience for a defender of his age." He further noted that Diomande's previous success in title-winning teams and his presence at the latter stages of the Champions League will aid his seamless integration into the Forest setup.
Glasner's signing of Diomande follows the acquisition of Austria midfielder Xaver Schlager on a free transfer in July.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Sport Football's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
