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Incoming Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is reportedly determined to bring one of his Sporting Lisbon stars with him to Old Trafford.
However, it’s not the highly-rated forward Viktor Gyokeres who has attempted to distance himself with a move to the Premier League.
On Friday, it was announced that Amorim will become the new head coach of United following the sacking of Erik ten Hag and will begin work on November 11.
Naturally, there is great anticipation over how the Portuguese will line-up the Red Devils, with expectations being that he’ll use the 3-4-3 formation that has worked so well at Sporting.
On paper, United do have good centre-back options that should be able to adapt to a back-three, with Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro likely to be first-choice when fit.
Beyond that however, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans are all the wrong side of 30 and not expected to remain at the club for too much longer.
Moreover, there are concerns over Martinez’s fitness, De Ligt’s form and lack of pace, and 18-year-old Yoro’s inexperience.
As such, The Sun report that Amorim wants to reunite with one of his Sporting defenders in order to ease the transition to his style of play, namely Ousmane Diomade.
Diomande has spent the last two-and-a-bit campaigns playing under the 39-year-old coach, winning the Primeira Liga last season as well as the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast.
The 20-year-old is one of the most highly-rated young defenders in the world and has conceded just three goals in his nine league appearances so far this season.
However, if Amorim really wants him, he’ll have to convince United to break the bank as Sporting will only sell if someone triggers Diomande’s £70million release clause.
Given how many of Ten Hag’s former Ajax players have flopped at Old Trafford, there may be hesitation from United’s point of view over reuniting Sporting stars with Amorim.
But Diomande has long had admirers from across Europe, not least United’s rivals Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle, suggesting that he could well be the real deal.
For now, Amorim and Diomande have a few more games together in Portugal, with the head coach’s first United match coming on November 24 away to Ipswich.
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