Liverpool's Interest in Ousmane Diomande Grows Amid Nottingham Forest Negotiations

Liverpool are watching Nottingham Forest’s pursuit of Ousmane Diomande with growing interest – and the door may just have swung open.

Forest have spent the summer pushing hard for the Sporting Lisbon defender, identifying the 22-year-old as a flagship signing and a statement of intent. This is a player who has been on the radar of major Premier League and European clubs for months. Winning that race would have underlined Forest’s ambition.

For a while, it looked like they had done exactly that.

At the end of July, BBC Sport reported that Forest were “close to completing” a deal with Sporting. Portuguese outlet A Bola then suggested this week that negotiations had moved forward again, describing an agreement as “practically finalised”.

Then the deal hit the wall.

Conflicting reports on Thursday claimed the move had collapsed. By Friday, even A Bola were acknowledging serious problems between Forest and Sporting over the structure of the transfer.

The numbers themselves are not the issue. Sporting want a fixed fee of at least €40m, with performance-related bonuses taking the total to around €45m and a percentage of any future capital gain. According to A Bola, Forest accepted those figures. The argument lies in how and when that money is paid.

“The payment terms from the English club to the Alvalade club were the cause of the stalled negotiation round,” the outlet reported, adding that while the outcome is “feared” for now, the possibility of an agreement has not completely vanished.

Into that uncertainty steps Liverpool.

The Reds have had a quiet window so far, with Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz the only arrivals. Most of the noise around Anfield has centred on their attack, with strong links to PSG duo Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye as the club look to refresh their forward line.

But the squad’s fault lines are at the back.

Injuries and a lack of depth at centre-back have left Liverpool exposed, and there are questions over their options at full-back as well. If they are serious about sustaining a title challenge and competing deep into Europe, another defender feels less like a luxury and more like a necessity.

That is where Diomande comes back into focus.

Sebastien Vidal, reporting on X, believes Liverpool are perfectly placed to pounce if Forest’s talks finally break down.

“Liverpool could benefit from the failure of negotiations between Nottingham Forest and Sporting for Ousmane Diomande,” he wrote, noting that the Ivorian, valued at around €40m, “remains available and has long been on the Reds’ radar, as they look to bolster their central defense.”

The profile fits. Young, athletic, already trusted at a high level in Portugal and still with room to grow. For Forest, he would be a centrepiece. For Liverpool, he could be the next pillar of a rebuilt back line.

Right now, the move is still theory, not action. Forest are not out of the race, Sporting have not walked away, and Liverpool’s priority remains their forward targets.

But transfer windows turn on moments like this. One disagreement over a payment schedule, one stalled negotiation, one elite club ready to move.

If Liverpool decide Diomande is the defender they cannot afford to miss, do Forest have the power to keep their statement signing from becoming someone else’s?