Surprise PL club eyeing Chelsea transfer target in saga that's set to impact Liverpool | OneFootball

Chelsea are one of the clubs interested in a transfer move for Sporting Lisbon centre-back Ousmane Diomande, but they face competition from Crystal Palace.

As first reported here for the Daily Briefing, the Eagles are making Diomande a top target to replace Marc Guehi, who continues to be targeted by Liverpool and other big clubs around 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.

Crystal Palace showing concrete interest in Ousmane Diomande

Ousmane Diomande challenges Kenan Yildiz for the ball (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)

The current feeling among sources in the industry is that Palace are showing the strongest interest in Diomande, followed by Chelsea.

This is a clear signal that the south Londoners are planning for life without Guehi, who won’t be signing a new contract and who is due to become a free agent next summer.

The England international was targeted by Liverpool towards the end of last summer’s transfer window, only for Palace to pull the plug late on as they didn’t have a replacement.

If they can land a talent like Diomande to strengthen their defence, however, then that would help fill the gap left by Guehi.

Marc Guehi not necessarily joining Liverpool

LFC fans will no doubt hope this is a boost for them in their pursuit of Guehi, but it doesn’t necessarily mean Anfield will be his next destination.

The 25-year-old will have numerous other suitors in for him, so in many ways Palace’s interest in Diomande doesn’t directly change that much.

It is yet another indication, however, that Guehi’s future lies away from Selhurst Park, so some Reds fans will surely see that as a positive, even if that already looked likely some time ago anyway.