Ousmane Diomande's proposed move to Nottingham Forest, at the time of writing, is still alive – despite some Portuguese reports suggesting otherwise.

It is just 16 days since Forest's interest in the Ivorian centre-back was broken by transfer influencer Fabrizio Romano.

Despite the relative recency of the news, the saga already feels like it has been never-ending, and there is still no end in sight.

So that you can stay away from the fear-mongering, doomsday theorists and misinformation, here is the actual state of play, as Roundtable understand it.

The notion that Forest should "just pay what Sporting want", is frankly laughable, and stems from a lack of understanding of the deal, and the would-be selling club.

Sporting, as we have previously reported, are notoriously difficult to negotiate with, and it should come as no surprise that a deal is dragging on.

Talks had centred around a fee in the region of £34 million before add-ons, and after lengthy talks there was a feeling that the clubs were close to striking a deal.

Then Sporting upped their asking price, and are now demanding at least £43 million to agree the sale of the Ivorian international.

Sporting have done this time and time again. So often, high-profile exits from Sporting are reported to have collapsed, before days later being finalised.

It happened when Manchester United signed Bruno Fernandes in 2020, and again when Arsenal endured a four-month saga to sign Viktor Gyökeres last summer.

In 2023, Tottenham Hotspur's deal to sign Pedro Porro did, temporarily, collapse over the sake of £2.5 million, but overnight talks, once again, resurrected the deal as Spurs relented.

Each time, the dispute was over less than £10 million after Sporting changed their stance, and each time, the transfer ultimately happened.

That is not to say Diomande will definitely join, but the track record is good. It feels more of a last push to squeeze the buying club, in this case Forest, for all they have.

Last month, Sporting signed Ibrahima Ba, a central defender, for £17 million. The Senegalese talent was brought in as Diomande's replacement.

So it is not in their interest to keep Diomande, as it would cause a significant selection headache for Rui Borges next season.

Ba was signed as a starter and will expect to be exactly that, while the idea of Diomande or his defensive partner from last season, Goncalo Inacio, sitting on the bench is inconceivable.

The fact that Forest remain in talks with Sporting despite the sudden change in demands should tell you all you need to know.

Forest, and new head coach Oliver Glasner, really want Diomande.

But that does not mean that they can, or will, bridge any gap to make it happen. After all, if they give in and offer the £43 million sought by Sporting, who is to say the demands will not rise again?

There is a key difference from now and previous deals where Sporting have changed their demands at the 11th hour. Previous negotiations were not with Evangelos Marinakis.

The Reds' Greek owner is a stern negotiator himself, and will not take kindly to Sporting's attempt to force him to pay more than previously expected.

While Forest do still want Diomande, and need a centre-back, reaching a deal for the 6' 3" youngster will be a huge test of Marinakis' patience.

Diomande has also yet to begin pre-season with Sporting, due to the expectation that he would leave, meaning that a deal needs to happen sooner rather than later if there is any hope of him featuring at the start of the season for Forest, which already feels unlikely.