Sporting Lisbon vs. Nottingham Forest: Ousmane Diomande update before friendly, negotiations 'ongoing'

Nottingham Forest and Sporting Lisbon allegedly remain in negotiations over the transfer of Ousmane Diomande.

The Premier League and Primeira Liga clubs are scheduled to square off in a pre-season friendly on Friday.

Playing each other in Portugal comes at a time when Forest are attempting to get a deal for Diomande over the line.

With discussions having been taking place for more than a week, the expectation had initially been that a transfer would have finalised by this point.

According to Record, it remains unclear whether the defender will play any part of the game at Estadio Algarve.

© Imago

Are Sporting, Forest close to Diomande deal?

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is seemingly against meeting Sporting's demands for one of their key players.

Sporting allegedly want €45m (£39.3m) package, which includes add-ons, but Forest are said to have only gone as high as a €42m (£36.5m) proposal.

Whether that impasse gets resolved remains to be seen, but the likelihood is that discussions will take place before this fixture.

Rui Borges, the head coach of Sporting, has reportedly accepted that Diomande will leave during the summer transfer window.

Furthermore, he would like the Ivory Coast international to get the chance to say goodbye to supporters.

That said, it feels highly unlikely that Diomande will line up for Sporting if there is a chance of a big-money sale being completed.

© Iconsport / Ewen Gavet

Sporting already have Diomande replacement

Earlier this month, Sporting got a deal over the line for Famalicao's Ibrahima Ba, the player identified as Diomande's replacement.

While he is unlikely to feature on Friday, Sporting have acted decisively to strengthen a key position.

Forest's only signing of the summer remains midfielder Xaver Schlager.