Nottingham Forest have signed Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande from Portuguese club Sporting in a deal worth a reported £34m.
The 22-year-old has signed a four-year contract with Forest, with the club holding an option to extend the agreement by a further year.
Diomande becomes one of the latest additions to Forest’s squad under new head coach Oliver Glasner, who is expected to use the defender in his preferred 3-5-2 formation.
The Ivorian is likely to operate in a back three alongside Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo.
“I am very happy to be here. It is a historic club, and it motivates me to join such a club,” Diomande said.
“I believe we can achieve very good things this season and I am looking forward to meeting the players and head coach. I will give my best.”
Diomande arrives at the City Ground with significant European experience despite his age.
He made 132 first-team appearances for Sporting after joining the Portuguese club from Danish side FC Midtjylland in January 2023.
During his time in Lisbon, he helped Sporting win consecutive Portuguese league titles in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
He was also part of the Sporting side that reached the Champions League quarter-finals last season before being eliminated by Arsenal.
Diomande has earned 15 caps for Ivory Coast and represented the Elephants at the 2026 World Cup, making one appearance during their group-stage campaign in a victory over Curacao.
The central defender began his career at Olympic Sport Abobo in Ivory Coast before moving to Denmark to continue his development.
Glasner is also a long-time admirer of Diomande and previously tried to sign the defender while he was manager of Crystal Palace.
