Varandas kept out of decision that could shape Sporting’s key man’s future | OneFootball

After the news last Thursday, November 6, reporting that Ousmane Diomande is not among the Ivory Coast squad for the two preparation matches for the AFCON, it is now known what Sporting’s position on the matter was: the Lions did not want to be associated with this decision.

According to the newspaper A Bola, the green and white officials were completely uninvolved in this process and did not interfere in any way to prevent the center-back from being called up by Emerse Faé—just as will be the case when it comes to the official call-up for the African competition.

Diomande seems to have ‘missed the train’ with his national team due to the muscle injury he suffered at the start of the season, which sidelined him for two months. Now, the defender has not yet given up on making it into the coach’s options and helping his country.

Despite this, this possibility ends up being good news for Sporting, since the Lions may not lose one of their main center-backs for a month—because the AFCON will be held in Morocco, from December to January 2026.

In the current season, Ousmane Diomande—valued at 45 million euros—has played seven matches for Sporting: three in Liga Portugal Betclic, two in the Champions League, one in the Portuguese Cup, and another in the Super Cup. In total, the center-back has accumulated 497 minutes.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.