Transfer Centre

Paris Saint-Germain to seal signing of Borussia Dortmund defender Abdou Diallo?

By Ben Miller | 16 July 2019

PSG to seal signing of Dortmund defender Abdou Diallo?

Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly on the verge of a deal to strengthen their defence with Borussia Dortmund and France Under-21 defender Abdou Diallo in a £29m deal.

Paris Saint-Germain are set to complete the signing of Abdou Diallo after Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc confirmed the club had agreed terms on a £29m deal for the France Under-21 defender.

Centre-back Diallo, who joined Dortmund from Mainz last year in a deal worth around £25m, made 28 Bundesliga appearances for Lucien Favre's runners-up in what seems certain to be his only season with the club.

The 23-year-old is a product of Monaco's youth ranks and has represented France at every level except the senior side, also offering the ability to switch to left-back when required.

PSG are seeking more competition for Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Thilo Kehrer and Presnel Kimpembe, turning their attention to the regular in Dortmund's Champions League side after falling behind Juventus in the race to capture Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt, who is expected to sign for the Serie A champions imminently.

Coach Thomas Tuchel has a certain amount of rebuilding to oversee across the Ligue 1 winners' backline following the departures of Gianluigi Buffon and Dani Alves this summer, and has already invested in youth with the addition of Jong Ajax defender Mitchel Bakker.

Speaking to reporters during Dortmund's pre-season training camp in the US, sporting director Zorc confirmed: "Abdou has decided that he wants to take on another challenge and for us it was a good fit, so we agreed to the change."

Arsenal had also been interested in Diallo before he signed a five-year contract at Dortmund, according to the official Bundesliga website.