Newcastle United's continued interest in 21-year-old Ivory Coast defender has rattled some cages in Portugal

It's definitely a Newcastle United thing to never take their eyes off the prize when looking at potential transfer targets with the Magpies more than happy to play the long game.

The Magpies are constantly being linked with players whose names we've been seeing again and again over the last couple of years.

Indeed, Newcastle's interest in Sporting's Ousmane Diomande seems to have gone on so long that I was genuinely flabbergasted that he's still only 21. It feels like we've been eyeing him for years.

My surprise is Newcastle's good fortune, however, as the Magpies are still interested in the Ivorian which hasn't really gone down well in Portugal.

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Portuguese media are seemingly raging that Premier League sides are sniffing around their best players

Diomande only joined Sporting in 2023 from FC Midtjylland, and it seems like Newcastle immediately dispatched scouts to keep an eye on him.

Sporting would very much like to keep hold of their star defender, but Portuguese outlet O Jogo have taken a rather dim view of Newcastle's interest in the 21-year-old.

As Diomande closes in on his 100th appearance for Sporting, O Jogo has claimed he will reach the milestone despite 'English greed', aiming a swipe at Newcastle United and other Premier League clubs keeping tabs on him.

Newcastle United are unlikely to activate Ousmane Diomande's hefty release clause

Ousmane Diomande has a €80 million (£68 million) release clause in his contract, which the Portuguese media seem to be terrified will be activated by a Premier League club this summer.

Newcastle certainly have a strong interest in Diomande, but there's no way we are going to pay the best part of £70 million for a 21-year-old defender with no Premier League experience.

He ticks all the boxes for Newcastle, and a bid isn't out of the question for the Magpies, but we don't see them going anywhere near the release clause figure.

As for whether we can tempt Sporting into making a deal, we'll have to wait and see, but if O Jogo get their way, it's not happening.