Yan Diomande is a PROBLEM! Liverpool cannot let Victor Munoz's arrival keep them from signing Ivory Coast's teenage trickster

Liverpool were certainly left counting the cost of failing to replace Luis Diaz last summer. The expectation was that Cody Gakpo would continue to flourish on the left wing, while the feeling behind the scenes at Anfield was that Rio Ngumoha was ready for first-team football. It was also pointed out that new signing Florian Wirtz was also capable of playing out wide.

On the opposite flank, Salah was coming off the arguably the greatest individual season in Premier League history, meaning there didn't appear to be a pressing need to find an heir to the Egyptian King's throne.

However, while Ngumoha lived up to the hype (and was arguably held back a little too much), Gakpo drove everyone insane by doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, Salah fell out with Arne Slot, and Wirtz often looked lost no matter where he played, and particularly in the Premier League.

The net result was a team that scored 86 goals on their way to winning the title in 2024-25 netted just 63 times last season, which left many Liverpool fans mystified as to why their club didn't at least try to sign Antoine Semenyo during the January transfer window rather than allowing the Ghana international to join Manchester City for a knockdown fee of £64m.

In truth, though, Semenyo could - and indeed - should have been signed last summer, as he would have provided invaluable cover all across the forward line. Slot was instead left throwing on Federico Chiesa, a player he clearly didn't trust, in the hope of salvaging games that had got away from his team. It worked once on the opening night of the season - but never again.

Consequently, despite plausible talk that Iraola appreciates Chiesa's versatility and work-rate, the Italian is almost certain to follow Salah out of the Anfield exit door this summer - particularly now that Liverpool have brought in Victor Munoz, a jet-heeled right winger capable of playing on the opposite flank and through the middle.

Some supporters immediately wondered what the surprise swoop for Munoz (at least in the sense that the Reds had kept their interest in the Osasuna ace under wraps until the very last minute) meant for the club's pursuit of Diomande. However, the Spaniard was never viewed as an alternative to the Ivorian, as underlined by Thursday night's news from David Ornstein that Liverpool had approached Leipzig with a €100m package for Diomande.

According to reports elsewhere, that offer has already been rejected, with the Germans still intent on holding onto their most prized possession for another season. The word is that if Leipzig are to reluctantly let Diomande leave the Red Bull Arena this summer, it will be for a fee in excess of €120m.

The question is, then, is he really worth that kind of money after just one good season of top-flight football?

Paying massive money for such a young player is unquestionably fraught with danger. Some teenagers simply aren't ready to play for a top team. Just look at Ousmane Dembele.

Like Diomande, the Frenchman became one of the most coveted two-footed wingers in world football after a breakout season in the Bundesliga but Dembele, as he admitted himself, effectively wasted five of his six years at Barcelona before finally realising what was required to excel at the highest level under Luis Enrique's tutelage at PSG.

There's very little to suggest, though, that Diomande is anything like as immature as Dembele was at the same age.

Diomande's time-keeping became a cause for concern during his first few months at Leipzig and he was even dropped for a game against Borussia Dortmund last October after turning up late for a team meeting, but it's something that he's "still annoyed" with himself over.

"I immediately apologised to the coach and the squad for the mistake," he recently revealed. "Every player receives a schedule and has to make sure they are on time."

Leipzig coach Ole Werner had no issues with Diomande thereafter and actually said that what he likes most about the forward is his willingness to work for the team (something that Dembele didn't start doing until well into his 20s).

"He often gets past his opponents without any tricks, simply because he's so dynamic, but what's even more important to me is that he is very good at counter-pressing," the German coach said of a player who contributed 12 goals and eight assists across the 2025-26 Bundesliga season. "It's a matter of attitude, and he demonstrates that."

Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae is just as enamoured with Diomande's application and character .

"He’s a kid who has a real team spirit, laughs with everyone, and he listens, listens to the technical staff whenever he’s given advice, and tries to do his best, as he's told," the former Nantes midfielder said after last weekend's 1-0 win over Ecuador. "It’s easy to work with someone like Yan. He’s so talented and has what is needed."

Indeed, it was impossible not to be impressed with the industry, speed and skill Diomande displayed in Philadelphia, with even Fae dumbstruck by just how impressively the 19-year-old performed on his World Cup debut.

"What more can I say? I can’t put it into words," The Elephants coach admitted. "He's very talented and he's still very young, so he'll improve." Which is why Liverpool probably feel as if they have no time to lose. They have other transfer targets, including PSG's odd man out, Bradley Barcola, but it's clear that Diomande is top of their wishlist - and it's probably a case of now or never.

Based on his rapid rate of progress over the past two seasons, first in Spain's second division, then in the Bundesliga, Fae is probably right: Diomande is only going to get better - and that, in turn, means his value is only going to increase. In fact, another stellar showing against Germany this weekend would genuinely add another few million to his price tag.

Diomande, then, isn't just a problem for opponents, he's become a problem for Liverpool too - because if they want to sign Salah's ideal successor, the only possible solution is to pay the extortionate nine-figure fee that Leipzig are demanding.

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