Leeds United know where they stand on Ousmane Diomande as president's stance revealed

Leeds United's interest in Sporting midfielder Ousmane Diomande is nothing new, but the Whites' stance may have to be reconsidered.

Diomande has emerged as one of the most talented central defenders in European football over the past year or so.

The 22-year-old's growth was recently hailed as "rapid" by Sporting boss Rui Borges, which nicely sums it up.

He has spent four seasons with Sporting, racking up 132 appearances, including games in the Champions League.

Leeds already knew they would likely have to break their transfer record of around £36million - paid for Georginio Rutter in 2023 - for Diomande.

But it appears even more than initially thought will now have to be splashed out if Leeds truly want to sign the centre-back.

Sporting president won't back down on Ousmane Diomande asking price

It had previously been suggested Leeds - or any other interested clubs - could land Diomande for a fee slightly below his release clause.

That clause stands at a reported £69m, which would annihilate that current transfer record.

A figure of £52m was said to likely be enough to sign Diomande, but that is no longer the case.

As per Portuguese outlet O Jogo on Saturday, Sporting president Frederico Varandas is not budging on that massive release clause fee.

He is well in his rights to do so, as well, because a number of clubs are said to hold an interest - Chelsea included.

Why there may be more to Diomande transfer update than meets the eye

It must be remembered we are not even a week into the transfer window being officially open.

Some teams have conducted business early on, which is always handy, but big-money deals such as this can often drag out.

Sporting will know full well they still have over two months to play with before Diomande has to be sold.

Sell him they almost certainly will, but it will be a case of who is willing to go highest.

Surely nobody will actually match the release clause, but Leeds need to ensure they at least lodge an offer to give the Portuguese side something to think about.