Chelsea and Arsenal defensive target has ‘decided his future’ – Need to activate release clause in January

Arsenal and Chelsea are today back to getting named in the race for Sporting CP defender Ousmane Diomande.

Newspaper A Bola is the one with a piece about the centre-back, claiming he has ‘decided his future’ by choosing to stay at the Portuguese club at least until the end of the season.

That’s bad news for Arsenal, Chelsea and other Premier League clubs who have been attentive to him in the past few weeks.

Sporting CP are focused on their league campaign, hoping to win the title, and aren’t expected to even listen to offers for Diomane in the January transfer window.

That means the interested clubs would need to trigger his release clause, which stands at €80m for the time being, as that could change if he signs a new contract.

Arsenal have been linked to Diomande since January, as the Gunners were still interested in signing him from FC Midtjylland, and now continue to follow him at Sporting CP.

Chelsea’s chase seems to be more recent, with reports from Portugal claiming the Blues had scouts watching him in October.

Now, we shall see if that small setback will hold off their pursuits until the next summer or if they pull the trigger early with a huge bid in the upcoming transfer window.