Chelsea sent a scout to watch defender who has been linked with Real Madrid - Reports
Chelsea reportedly sent a scout to watch Real Madrid target and Sporting Cp center-back Ousmane Diomande play for Ivory Coast against Morocco on October 14.
According to Record (h/t Chelsea-News.co), Sporting want to renew Diomande's contract and include a £70 million release clause. The Blues apparently want to take advantage of the situation in January but could be joined by other Premier League clubs in their pursuit.
Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Wesley Fofana, and Trevoh Chalobah are currently sidelined with injuries. Thiago Silva, on the other hand, is 39 years old, and in the twilight of his playing days.
Diomande's current deal runs until the summer of 2027, which he signed when joining the Portuguese giants from Midtjylland in January this year. He has already become one of Ruben Amorim's trusted first-team players this season, scoring twice and providing an assist in 10 games across competitions.
The 19-year-old, as per SPORT, has also drawn interest from Real Madrid, who want to sign a young, left-footed center-back. Nacho Fernandez looks set to leave on a free transfer next year, while Malick Thiaw seems set to stay at AC Milan despite interest from the Madrid-based giants.
Ousmane Diomande, who stands at 1.90 meters, played the full 90 minutes for Ivory Coast during their 1-1 draw against Morocco in a friendly. This was his second senior cap for the Elephants after he made his debut in a 1-0 friendly win against Lesotho last month.
Chelsea loanee trying to persuade Real Madrid to sign him permanently - Reports
A serious knee injury to Thibaut Courtois prompted Real Madrid to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea this summer.
The Spaniard has since become the club's undisputed No. 1 between the sticks over Andriy Lunin. Currently, Real Madrid do not have any provisions to make his loan deal permanent next year.
However, according to AS (h/t DailySports.net), Arrizabalaga is trying to convince Los Blancos' management to buy him permanently next summer. Speaking about his situation at the Santiago Bernabeu, he told AS (h/t Metro):
"I don’t want to start thinking in October about what could happen [next] July. But what I can say is that I am very happy. Of course, I will not lack effort and enthusiasm. I will try to help make Madrid’s history even greater and enjoy every minute, every game to its fullest."
Ironically, he was signed by Chelsea as a replacement for Courtois in 2018 when the latter joined the Madrid-based giants. Since then, the €80 million signing has made 109 appearances across competitions for Chelsea, keeping 35 clean sheets.