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Liverpool’s summer transfer window is already shaping up to be one of the most consequential in recent memory.
With Mohamed Salah’s departure leaving a gaping hole on the right flank, the club’s recruitment team has been working tirelessly to identify the player capable of filling that void – and for months now, one name has sat firmly at the top of that list: Yan Diomande.
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The 19-year-old Ivory Coast winger has taken the Bundesliga by storm since arriving at RB Leipzig from Leganés for just €20 million last summer, registering 12 goals and eight assists across all competitions in a debut campaign that has left Europe’s elite scrambling for his signature.
Arsenal, PSG, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been credited with interest, but it has been Liverpool who have consistently emerged as one of the most realistic destinations.
Diomande has done little to play down the speculation either. He namechecked Liverpool when discussing potential transfers over the weekend:
“Yeah, I heard,” Diomande said when asked about the new reported price tag. “But I don’t know if it’s going to be okay for everyone to pay that.”
“I’m not going to say Paris, Liverpool or Real (Madrid). But it would be a good idea to play for big clubs. Everyone has ambitions and every day you want to go higher.
“So, it was Leganes, today I’m a Leipzig player. I’m not going to hide my desires or my dreams. I want to play for a big club, of course.”
But it seems that price tag may have just gone up. Italian outlet SportItalia have set their asking price at €120 million – a jump from the previously quoted figures of €100 million.
It’s claimed that Liverpool is currently the club making the most concrete progress in the race for Diomande, with the Reds’ representatives described as the most advanced in their contacts with all relevant parties.
The most plausible scenario outlined by SportItalia would see a deal worth approximately €100 million in total – structured as a fixed fee of around €80 million, with a further €20 million in performance-related bonuses tied to appearances and team objectives.
Such a structure would allow Liverpool to manage the initial outlay while giving Leipzig a pathway to reach close to their valuation should Diomande hit the ground running at Anfield.
It’s finished off by suggesting that the coming weeks will be “decisive”.