Yan Diomande has dismissed comparisons to a Chelsea legend amid Liverpool's transfer interest in the $100M-plus rated RB Leipzig winger, who could star at the World Cup
09:50, 13 Jun 2026
Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig and Ivory Coast.
Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig and Ivory Coast.(Image: Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images)
RB Leipzig forward Yan Diomande looks set to be Ivory Coast's next big star — but he says that is where the similarities with Chelsea legend Didier Drogba stop.
Diomande has attracted interest from a variety of major European clubs heading into the summer, with Liverpool and Champions League winners PSG among them. But his talent is reflected in a price tag set at more than $100M.
At the World Cup, Diomande could be one of the breakout stars, with the 19-year-old coming off the back of a season in which he scored 13 goals and set up another 10 in all competitions.
That was in his first year in Germany, having signed from Leganes last summer. But while Leipzig wants to keep Diomande for another 12 months, there is an acceptance that he won't be staying there too long.
"No, no, no. I have my own, well, my own view of football," he said when asked about comparisons to Drogba.
"I don’t model myself after anyone... Drogba is a good player, but he is not the player I model myself after because we have a different way of playing, so... I wouldn’t say Drogba, but he is a great legend, yes.
Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig) controls the ball during match day 33 1.Bundesliga, RB Leipzig and St. Pauli, Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany on May 09 2026.
Diomande lit up this season's Bundesliga with his direct running. (Image: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
"You can also see it this way: He is a role model — not for me, but for every player in my country, and I think also for this generation of Africans, for young players."
Some players, like Jadon Sancho and Timo Werner, have struggled to take their form from the Bundesliga into the Premier League. But Diomande appears to have all the attributes needed to thrive in England.
He has electric pace and a dribbling ability that drags his team up the pitch, as well as a clinical side in the final third.
"I think everyone somehow sees me as a star, but I don’t see myself as a star," he said.
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"For me, I am still the same person as before, since the first day I arrived here. That’s why I try to fight every day to improve myself in everything, on and off the field."
Liverpool.com says: Diomande is a winger, not a central striker, so he is nothing like Drogba, really. Clearly, though, he is a massive talent who could reach great heights during his career.
At Anfield, there is an obvious place for him in the team with Mohamed Salah having departed. That should give Liverpool an advantage in any transfer race for the teenager.