No serious moves have been made for £69m player despite Chelsea interest

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It does not look like Chelsea have made any serious moves for Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande despite being interested in him.

Chelsea made contact with Sporting over a deal for Ousmane Diomande last month, a report from the Evening Standard claimed.

However, according to Fabrizio Romano, the Portuguese club are yet to receive any serious proposals for the centre-back. “I’m not aware of movement around Diomande now, honestly,” the transfer expert shared on Substack.

It is also unlikely that Sporting will be in the mood to negotiate.

As per Goal, Diomande has a £69m release clause in his contract and the club will only sell him if that clause is triggered.

Nevertheless, journalist Ben Jacobs still thinks it will be easier to sign Diomande than Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo this month.

Chelsea yet to make concrete move for Ousmane Diomande

With transfer deadline day fast-approaching, it looks like Chelsea will hold off from making a swoop for Diomande or any other central defender until the summer.

It is not impossible that they launch a serious offer for someone now, but a lack of movement so far suggests they are going to wait until the end of the season.

It is not the end of the world; Mauricio Pochettino should have enough to finish this campaign.

The Argentine still has Thiago Silva, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile for his central defence. There is Levi Colwill as well, though he has spent most of the season playing at left-back. Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah are yet to feature this term because of injury.

On paper, then, Chelsea do have a lot of centre-halves when everyone is fit. The only problem is Pochettino has not had a fully fit squad all season, which is definitely one reason for his side’s struggles in the Premier League in the current campaign.