Nottingham Forest are confident of closing a deal for Ousmane Diomande this summer.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL EMPIRE OF THE KOP APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYFabrizio Romano reports on X (formerly Twitter) that the Tricky Trees have sent a proposal valued at around €40m [£34.1m] for the Sporting CP centre-back.Sources close to Liverpool had previously indicated that the Reds’ recruitment team admired the 22-year-old centre-half.Nottingham Forest could win Ousmane Diomande transferIt’s remarkable work by Forest if the Premier League outfit does indeed manage to secure the footballer for below Sporting’s €80m [£68.2m] release clause. Nottingham Forest, confident to close Ousmane Diomande deal with Sporting shortly after bid sent.Proposal will be way below €80m release clause; around €40m total package add-ons included. pic.twitter.com/eOkuHU7qRi— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 22, 2026 Nottingham Forest are in advanced talks to sign Ousmane Diomandé from Sporting.Negotiations underway between clubs and with the centre back’s camp, #NFFC are on it to get the agreement done. pic.twitter.com/Vh90jSnwvU— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 21, 2026 And something of a blow for Liverpool, we’d argue, given the slew of links in recent years.Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustMore to the point, it seems to be a strange one to overlook at that potential price point, given we’re in obvious need of centre-half reinforcements this summer.Yes, a veteran operator would be preferable. However, when you have to accept that a more local operator like Maxence Lacroix, with genuine Premier League experience, is going to cost north of £55m, it seems strange that Liverpool aren’t keeping an eye on options like Diomande this summer.£34.1m would be a bargain for LiverpoolIt’s worth highlighting from the off that the Ivory Coast international’s aerial threat does pose a potential problem for Liverpool’s recruitment. After all, an aerial duel win rate of 57.4% per 90 (in the Portuguese top-flight last year) doesn’t compare favourably to our centre-back duo last term.PlayersAerial duel win rate (per 90)Ousmane Diomande57.4%Virgil van Dijk74.4%Ibrahima Konate71.3%* Ousmane Diomande’s aerial threat compared to Liverpool’s starting centre-back partnership in top-flight action in 2025/26 (Fotmob)Regardless, £34.1m is the exact kind of price point that should be appealing to Liverpool. At the very least, it proves the point that there is value to be found in deals abroad, albeit at the cost of Premier League experience.But perhaps that’s less of a concern if Richard Hughes and Co. are focusing their attentions on a more experienced operator to complement our options in the backline.More Stories / Latest News‘Advanced talks’ – Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool target closing in on half-price £34m transferJuly 22, 2026 8:43Andoni Iraola reiterates desperate need for Liverpool signings with ‘very thin’ warning to FSGJuly 22, 2026 8:41Amazon founder Jeff Bezos approached by consortium over proposed investment in Liverpool FCJuly 22, 2026 7:46The post ‘Advanced talks’ – Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool target closing in on half-price £34m transfer appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.