Ousmane Diomande’s representatives have held talks about a move to Newcastle United during this summer’s transfer window.
Diomande has long been linked with a move to Newcastle United, who are actively looking to strengthen their options in central defence.
The Sporting CP defender has been linked with a number of huge Premier League clubs, so Eddie Howe’s side may not have it all their own way if they do accelerate their interest.
Still, he’s one of the names on the club’s radar, along with Crystal Palace and England star Marc Guehi.
Newcastle are interested in signing Guehi, though Geordie Boot Boys understands he’s relaxed about his future at Selhurst Park.
Diomande, meanwhile, is an alternate target.
Sporting Lisbon ace Ousmane Diomande
Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images
Newcastle United hold talks with Ousmane Diomande
Geordie Boot Boys spoke to TBR Football’s chief correspondent Graeme Bailey about the club’s interest in the Ivorian international.
Bailey has revealed that Newcastle have been scouting Diomande for around a year now, with the player having impressed their scouting team.
Diomande is on the club’s radar and the 21-year-old’s agents have spoken to Newcastle.
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“Newcastle have been doing work on Diomande since last year, he has impressed their scouting team on numerous occasions,” he said.
“They have been spoken to and he is very much on their radar, I can confirm that.
“Diomande’s people are working on potential options and Newcastle have been spoken to.”
What is Ousmane Diomande’s style of play?
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has praised Diomande, having worked with him in the Portuguese capital.
“Diomande plays with both feet, and is very physically strong,” said Amorim.
“He is a very talented player and most people don’t know how many clubs were after him. The truth is that we managed to get him because we took a risk by telling the kids that they’re coming to play for the first team, he’s got a lot of scope for progression.”
As per FBREF data, he ranks within the leading 96th percentile of central defenders across Europe’s major five leagues over the past year for passes attempted, pass completion rate and touches in the attacking penalty area.
Stat Ousmane Diomande
Passes attempted/90 75.76
Pass completion rate/90 93.5%
Touches in attacking penalty area/90 1.68
Aerial duels won/90 4
Tackles/90 1.2
Interceptions/90 1
Ousmane Diomande stats, data via FBREF and WhoScored
While translating that into a Premier League context is not particularly simple, it seems clear he’s more than comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Defensively, no one in the Sporting squad won more than his 2.5 aerial duels on average per game. For context, only Dan Burn (4) had more success in the air at Newcastle last season.
With Newcastle keen, it would be fascinating to see how he operates in the Premier League.