Arsenal is reportedly being linked with a move for Sporting Club defender Ousmane Diomande, as the Ivorian wonderkid continues to develop rapidly.
The defender only joined his current club in the January transfer window and could have made a high-value transfer during the last transfer window.
Arsenal is said to have made an offer for him, but Sporting rejected their bid and instead awarded him a new contract.
However, an official from his former club, Midtjylland, has disclosed that Arsenal sought to include him in their squad before his move to Sporting, but the deal was jeopardised due to Brexit.
Ove Pedersen, the sporting vice-director at the Danish side, said, as quoted by Sport Witness:
“He was with us for about seven months. We signed him when he was about to turn 18. He arrived in November and we included him in the under-19 team. I remember he played in the Youth League against Benfica and there were scouts watching the game to assess Benfica players.
“At the end, they rang me to ask who Diomande was, where he’d come from. I spoke to the Arsenal scouts, who saw his videos and asked for more information. They were interested. Brexit made that situation difficult, but if it hadn’t been for that he might have gone there.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Brexit has its advantages and disadvantages and we can see missing out on Diomande as one of its disadvantages.
However, we have also benefited from it in different ways and it has helped us clinch some talents from outside Europe.
We now have to prepare to pay a good fee for Diomande, but as long as he meets expectations at the Emirates, he would justify any outlay we make.
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There has been genuine interest for this kid for some time now