Crystal Palace are reportedly still eyeing Sporting CP centre-back Ousmane Diomande despite the player penning a new deal with his club in January. The Ivorian defender has been on the Eagles’ wishlist since last summer, when they searched for a Marc Guehi replacement.
Guehi stayed at Palace after failing to secure a move to Liverpool on deadline day. He eventually left Selhurst Park when he joined Manchester City in the winter transfer window for £20m.
The Eagles have since been linked to several defenders as they look to address their former captain’s departure. It looked as though the club had dropped their interest in Diomande once he signed a contract extension with Sporting.
Palace still eyeing Diomande
Diomande put pen to paper on a new four-year deal, and this included an €80m (£70m) release clause. Reports suggested that this fee had ruled out any move being made for the 22-year-old.
Portuguese outlet A Bola seem to have refuted those claims and suggests that he is still on the South Londoners’ radar. They claim that Steve Parish’s transfer chiefs “continue to closely monitor the defender.”
A €55 million offer from last summer is also mentioned in the report, and so too is interest from rival Premier League clubs. Newcastle United and Manchester United are also tracking the Sporting defender.
There is a chance Sporting will entertain offers below the release clause. It’s claimed that a concrete bid between €40 million and €50 million would be carefully analysed.
| Ousmane Diomande (Liga Portugal 2025-26) | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Appearances: | 11 |
| Goals: | 0 |
| Assists: | 0 |
| Interceptions: | 0.9 |
| Tackles per game: | 0.8 |
| Balls recovered per game: | 5.4 |
| Dribbled past per game: | 0.3 |
| Ground duels won: | 1.4 (39%) |
| Aerial duels won: | 2.4 (55%) |
Diomande has endured an injury-ridden season, appearing only 11 times in Liga Portugal. He is regarded as one of Europe’s most promising and ‘coveted centre-backs’ in Europe.
Palace might have to negotiate
It seems unlikely that Palace will pay the release clause in Diomande’s contract, given that they only just broke their transfer record twice in January. Brennan Johnson arrived from Tottenham Hotspur for £35m, and Jorgen Strand Larsen followed him to Selhurst Park from Wolves for £48m.
A new centre-back is a priority for the Eagles, and the Ivorian fits the bill with a similar profile to Guehi. Parish’s chiefs might need to try to convince Sporting to sell at a lower fee if they do wish to bring him to South London.
The problem the club have is growing interest from other clubs such as Newcastle and United. If one of those two Premier League giants were to make a concrete move, they are more financially capable of paying his release clause.
