Arsenal and Chelsea will compete for Sporting defender

The Africa Cup of Nations, which recently kicked off in Ivory Coast, attracts the attention of scouts from European giants who are looking for potential reinforcements for their teams.

For example, the Portuguese site Record reported that during the match between the tournament hosts and Guinea-Bissau (2-0), representatives of Arsenal were monitoring 20-year-old defender Usman Diomande from Sporting Lisbon, who represents the Ivory Coast national team.

Chelsea is also paying attention to the center-back. Both clubs are "very cautious" about Diomande because there is an 80 million euro release clause in his contract.

The defender joined Sporting in winter 2023 from Danish club Midtjylland for 7.5 million euros. In the current season, he has played in 21 matches for the Lisbon team, scoring two goals and providing one assist.