Chelsea on Alert as PSG Desires €45M Move for Crystal Palace Target | OneFootball

PSG could be eyeing the long-term replacement for Marquinhos in Sporting Lisbon centre-back Ousmane Diomande. Nonetheless, they face competition for the player, who is on the radar of several Premier League clubs.

On December 12, CaughtOffside reported that Crystal Palace is making Diomande a top target to replace Marc Guehi, who continues to be pursued by Liverpool and other big clubs across Europe.

Sporting don’t want to sell Diomande and are pointing to his €80m release clause, which one imagines could prove problematic for Palace, but perhaps less so for Chelsea. Other top clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal, and Newcastle are also understood to have scouted Diomande in recent times.

Ousmane Diomande on the Parisians’ Radar

Jess Hornby/Getty Images

Meanwhile, on December 28, A Bola reported that PSG have placed Diomande at the top of its priority list to reinforce its defense in the short term. Furthermore, the French and European champions’ desire to sign the Sporting Lisbon centre-back for €45 million.

The 22-year-old Ivorian’s characteristics align with the profile desired by coach Luis Enrique, particularly his ability to play with both feet, his clean passing, both short and long, and his physical strength.

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According to the report, Diomande is seen as a “new Pacho,” a reference to Willian Pacho, the Ecuadorian center-back PSG signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for €35 million in the summer of 2024, who has established himself as a key figure in the team.

Given the squad is competing on multiple fronts, and Marquinhos is already 31, this is a typical long-term move within Luís Campos’s forward-looking planning.