Following reports from England saying Newcastle United engaged in a pursuit of Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande, Portuguese newspaper Record today shares their own take on the situation.
First of all, despite claims of a bid from the Magpies for the transfer, the outlet insists there are no offers on the table yet.
Still, Record claims there are indeed ‘exploratory contacts’ from Newcastle, and it’s ‘not excluded’ that Eddie Howe’s side will ‘advance’ with the €80m which is needed to trigger Diomande’s release clause.
It’s said the Magpies have been following the defender for months, and since they want to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window, he’s a name on the list.
The problem is that Sporting don’t want to negotiate, and as covered by A Bola earlier, they want €80m to let him go.
Record claim that Diomande would like to end the season in Lisbon, but ‘everything is possible’ in the transfer window, as there’s an ‘expectation’ bids will arrive in the coming weeks.
The newspaper points out that Newcastle are not alone in the race for Diomande, as Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested in him.
As we stated earlier, €80m in the January window seems a mighty stretch.
