Liverpool could reportedly stand to benefit from the collapse in talks between Nottingham Forest and Sporting Lisbon for Ousmane Diomande.
This report comes off the back of a major update on Liverpool’s plans to sign new defenders this summer from Fabrizio Romano.
The Italian journalist reported that signing a centre-back has been made a higher priority than signing a new right back.
He said: “Keep an eye out for centre-backs. What I’m hearing is that Liverpool could consider a move for a centre-back in the summer transfer window in these final weeks. Liverpool could add one more player in this position.
“More than right-back in this specific moment; I would keep an eye on the centre-back position.”
Now, it seems one of the centre-backs Liverpool are assessing is Lisbon’s Diomande, who has been linked with a move to Anfield for years.
Liverpool could “benefit” from Forest’s failed move to sign Diomande
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According to journalist Sebastien Vidal, Liverpool could be the beneficiary of the collapsed talks between Forest and Lisbon, with Diomande still available and for only €40m (£34.3m).
Vidal reports: “Liverpool could benefit from the failure of negotiations between Nottingham Forest and Sporting for Ousmane Diomande.
“The 22-year-old Ivorian defender, valued at around €40M, remains available and has long been on the Reds’ radar, as they look to bolster their central defence.”
Liverpool pourrait profiter de l’échec des négociations entre Nottingham Forest et le Sporting pour Ousmane Diomande. Le défenseur ivoirien de 22 ans, estimé autour de 40 M€, reste disponible et figure depuis longtemps sur les radars des Reds, qui cherchent à renforcer leur…
— Sébastien Vidal (@SebEcrivainFoot) August 7, 2026
Why a move to sign Diomande makes sense for Liverpool this summer
Liverpool were particularly heavily linked with signing Diomande between 2021 and 2023, after which links subsided quite a bit. At the time, the reported cost of signing him began at around €60m (£51m), which explains why the Reds would have been hesitant to invest in bringing him to Anfield.
Now, however, with that cost nearly halved, and with more experience of playing elite senior football at the age of 22, signing him makes a lot more sense than it did a few years ago.
Liverpool are obviously bereft of centre-back depth after Ibrahima Konate left to join Real Madrid on a free transfer, and Diomande may be the perfect move this summer when they need to be savvy with the way they spend.
