As Nottingham Forest’s pursuit of Sporting CP defender Ousmane Diomande drags on, annoyance felt by some supporters is crescendoing.

Forest have so far completed just one signing this summer: the free transfer of former RB Leipzig midfielder Xaver Schlager, who played under new head coach Oliver Glasner at Wolfsburg.

In truth, Forest’s transfer activity looks, on the face of it, to have stalled on several fronts in recent days.

News of a potential move for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall has been all-but silenced of late, talks to bring in Givairo Read have hit an impasse as AS Roma enter discussions, and after making a bid for Anan Khalaili, the Reds’ interest in the Israeli wing-back has also gone quiet.

But the most frustrating saga for Forest fans appears to undoubtedly be the protracted negotiations to sign Diomande.

Talks over a move for the Ivorian centre-back have centred around a valuation in the region of £34 million, with the two sides only marginally apart.

The 22-year-old is one of the most promising defenders in Europe, but while many implore Forest to simply meet Sporting’s demands, that is easier said than done.

In the end, the expectation remains that Forest’s patience will be rewarded and that Diomande will play at the City Ground next season, but the current delay is not all the Reds’ doing.

Sporting are famously very tough negotiators, and the duration of the current talks should not come as a surprise.

It has been just 12 days since Forest’s interest in Diomande was first reported, and since then, the line about “advanced talks” has been repeated frequently.

But if Sporting were to agree the sale of Diomande within two weeks of Forest’s initial interest, it would represent a significant diversion from their recent track record.

High-profile departures from Sporting typically take a long time.

Just ask Arsenal fans, who had to wait just shy of four months for their initial interest in Viktor Gyokeres to materialise in his announcement by the Gunners.

Likewise, it took a month and a half for the 21-time Portuguese champions to sanction Manuel Ugarte’s move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2023, when terms of his release clause had to be ironed out.

In the same year, Pedro Porro’s arrival at Tottenham Hotspur also dragged on for more than a month of fierce negotiations before an agreement was struck.

It is easy to suggest that Forest should just “pay what they want”, especially when reporting indicates such a minuscule gap in valuation, but Sporting have a history of moving the goalposts on deals.

Oliver Glasner has made no secret of his insistence that he expects additions this summer.

In fact, the Austrian head coach had initially been public about his optimism that two new recruits would join during Forest’s pre-season training camp in Portugal.

That camp has now ended, and midfielder Xaver Schlager, who played under Glasner at Wolfsburg, is the only signing so far, having arrived on a free transfer.

While patience is needed, it is fair to say that Forest need to work adeptly to complete their squad before the season starts, and ideally as soon as possible to give new players as much time as possible to become accustomed to their new surroundings.