Chelsea could pay £69m for Ousmane Diomande

Chelsea are interested in signing Ousmane Diomande from Portuguese Primeira Liga club Sporting Lisbon in the summer transfer window, according to TEAMtalk. The report has claimed that Chelsea are looking for a new central defender, and that Diomande is a top target of the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners.

Thiago Silva will leave Chelsea at the end of the season when his current contract runs out. The Blues want to find a suitable replacement, and one of the players the London club have been impressed with is Diomande. The 20-year-old is one of the best young centre-backs in Europe and has a release clause of £69 million in his contract. He has played five times for the Ivory Coast national team already.

TEAMtalk has claimed that Chelsea will trigger the £69 million release clause in the contract of Diomande if they are able to offload some of their homegrown talent in the summer transfer window. Diomande has scored one goal and given one assist in 18 league matches and has scored one goal in six starts and one substitute appearance in the UEFA Europa League for Sporting this season.