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Nottingham Forest’s pursuit of Ousmane Diomande has been something of a rollercoaster over the past three days. On Wednesday it was announced in Portugal that the two sides had reached an agreement on the transfer fee. Then on Thursday, the whole thing had collapsed. Friday saw the explanation being that the two clubs disagreed on payment terms, however, it wasn’t over and talks would resume. Evangelos Marinakis getting the blame again The Saturday printed edition of A Bola puts the blame for protracted negotiations at the feet of Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis. The following is their take: ‘Ousmane Diomande is involved in a saga whose conclusion insists on not emerging. After an agreement between Sporting and Nottingham Forest aimed at transferring the Ivorian to the Premier League, the conclusion of the deal ran into disagreements over the English club’s payment terms, which caused the process to stagnate.’ Sporting face Estrela da Amadora in the league on Saturday evening. Manager Rui Borges is expected to have Diomande on the bench. That’s after he was left out of pre-season friendlies due to what was thought to be an imminent transfer. Message for Nottingham Forest Over at O Jogo, their Saturday edition also states Ousmane Diomande will be involved against Estrela da Amadora. Whether that’s because Sporting are genuinely short of options today, or if it’s to send a message to Nottingham Forest isn’t clear. Intriguingly, Daniel Bragança, who is on the verge of a move to Evangelos Marinakis’ Olympiacos, has been left out. Record’s Saturday printed edition carries Rui Borges quotes: “Sporting has great players and Diomande is one of them. I am not at all worried about his situation because there is always a lot of noise in the market. “We have at least a basic understanding of who might leave, and we had the opportunity to acquire Ba. We know what he can be in terms of the future. Can we have five central defenders? Midway through last season, they were asking me if we couldn’t have one more, and there were four in the squad.” Ousmane Diomande is expected to remain on the bench against Estrela da Amadora.