Southampton now want to sign Arsenal target Ousmane Diomande from FC Midtjylland.
What’s the story?
Well, it was Mais Futebol and CNN Portugal reporter Bruno Andrade who revealed that Arsenal are interested in signing the 19-year-old sensation.
Now, Southampton have joined the race to sign Diomande – according to A Bola in Portugal.
The teenager is currently on loan at Mafra in Liga Sabseg – Portugal’s second division – where he is making quite the name for himself.
A Bola believe Southampton have sent scouts to watch Diomande in action when Mafra take on Trofense tomorrow at 15:30 with representatives from Marseille and Sevilla also attending.
FC Midtjylland have placed a €10m (£9m) price tag on the Ivorian’s head, with Sporting Lisbon the only side known to have made an offer so far – however, it was only around half of that valuation, with an offer of €5m (£4m) submitted.
So far this season, Diomande has made 16 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal while also providing one assist.
Ricardo Sousa – Manager of Mafra – has described the Arsenal and Southampton target as a “very aggressive” and “fast” player.
Diomande should choose Southampton over Arsenal
In our view, Diomande would be wise to choose a move to St Mary’s over the Emirates Stadium right now.
Arsenal are close to signing another promising young defender in Jakub Kiwior – a deal in the region of £18m has been agreed with Spezia, as first revealed by Polish news outlet Meczyki.
Even without the Poland international arriving, Mikel Arteta already has a number of quality centre-backs such as Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Ben White.
Therefore, Diomande would have a better chance of regular first-team football if he chooses Southampton.
Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as a promising performance against Trofense tomorrow could convince the Saints to make a move.
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