Real Madrid are reportedly set to rivals Arsenal and Chelsea in the race to sign Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande.
The 20-year-old joined Sporting from Danish club FC Midtjylland in January last year for an initial €7.5m and he has since established himself as a first-team regular with the Portuguese giants.
Diomande has featured 38 times for Sporting in all competitions, including 21 outings this season, and his rapid rise on the European stage is understood to have caught the eye of a number of top clubs.
Before joining Sporting, Diomande was linked with Premier League duo Arsenal and Manchester City, and the former are believed to have retained their interest in the youngster.
Indeed, a recent report claims that the Gunners have contacted the family of Diomande to gauge whether he would be interested in moving to the Emirates Stadium.
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London rivals Chelsea have also been credited with an interest in Diomande, as have Newcastle United, with both clubs said to be exploring the possibility of strengthening their backlines.
However, the Premier League sides could face competition for the signature of Diomande, as Fichajes reports that La Liga giants Real Madrid are "evaluating the possibility" of luring the defender to the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer.
Los Blancos are said to be keen to bolster their options at the back, although manager Carlo Ancelotti has ruled out the possibility of signing a new central defender in January.
Eder Militao has been sidelined for the majority of this season with a long-term knee injury and is not expected to make a full recovery until April, while David Alaba is facing a race against time to recover before the season come to a close after sustaining an ACL injury last month.
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Captain Nacho Fernandez, a peripheral first-team figure, has since featured in central defence alongside Antonio Rudiger, while midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and academy graduate Alvaro Carrillo also received first-team minutes at the back prior to the Spanish winter break.
Real Madrid's potential pursuit of Ivory Coast international Diomande is said to reflect the club's strategy of recruiting emerging talent to integrate into the first-team fold.
Ancelotti is already working with a plethora of highly-rated young stars including Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Eduardo Camavinga and summer signing Jude Bellingham, who has particularly excelled for Los Blancos this season.
Diomande is under contract at Sporting until the summer of 2027 and his deal is believed to include a release clause worth €80m (£69m).
The defender is currently away on international duty with Ivory Coast, who are hosting the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations and will play their first match against Guinea-Bissau on Saturday.
Oliver Thomas
