- Nottingham Forest have signed Ousmane Diomande from Sporting for a reported £34 million.
- The Ivory Coast defender has signed a four-year contract with an option for an additional year.
- Diomande arrives after winning back-to-back Portuguese league titles with Sporting.
- The 22-year-old has already earned 15 caps for Ivory Coast.
- New manager Oliver Glasner is expected to use him in a three-man defence.
Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of Ousmane Diomande from Portuguese champions Sporting CP in a deal reported to be worth £34 million.
The 22-year-old centre-back has signed a four-year contract, with Forest holding an option to extend the agreement by a further year.
Speaking after the transfer was announced, Diomande said he was excited to join a club with a rich history and ambitious plans for the new season.
The Ivory Coast international added that he was looking forward to meeting his new teammates and working under head coach Oliver Glasner, promising to give his best for the club.
Diomande becomes one of Forest’s major signings of the summer and is expected to play a central role in Glasner’s preferred 3-5-2 system. He is likely to line up alongside Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo in a back three.
Glasner has admired the defender for several years and reportedly attempted to sign him during his time at Crystal Palace.
Forest chief football officer George Syrianos described Diomande as a powerful and commanding defender who arrives with valuable experience despite his young age.
Diomande joined Sporting in January 2023 and quickly established himself in the first team. He went on to make 132 senior appearances for the Lisbon club and helped them win consecutive Primeira Liga titles in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
He also featured prominently in Sporting’s run to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals last season, where the Portuguese side were eventually eliminated by Arsenal.
Although still only 22, Diomande already has significant international experience. He has earned 15 caps for Ivory Coast and was part of the squad that represented the country at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, making an appearance in the group-stage victory over Curacao.
His international pedigree was another factor in Forest’s decision to pursue the transfer.
Diomande began his career with Olympic Sport Abobo in Ivory Coast before moving to Danish side FC Midtjylland. His performances in Denmark earned him a transfer to Sporting, where he developed into one of Europe’s most highly regarded young defenders.
The move to Nottingham Forest now gives him the opportunity to test himself in the Premier League.
The signing follows the arrival of Austria midfielder Xaver Schlager, who joined Forest on a free transfer earlier in the summer. Forest have been active in the market as Glasner reshapes the squad ahead of his first full season in charge.
Supporters will hope Diomande’s winning mentality and Champions League experience can help strengthen a defence that is expected to be central to Forest’s ambitions in the 2026-27 campaign.
