Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Fae has addressed the swirling transfer speculation surrounding Yan Diomande, after the RB Leipzig winger produced a man of the match performance in his country’s 1 0 World Cup opening win over Ecuador.
Diomande has quickly become one of the most talked about names of the tournament so far.
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The 19 year old started on the right wing in Philadelphia and was a constant threat throughout, registering more touches in the opposition box than any other player on the pitch and creating more chances than anyone else in the match, five in total.
His direct running and pace caused persistent problems for Ecuador’s defence, helping keep them pinned back until Manchester United’s Amad scored a late 89th minute winner.
Speaking after the match, Fae addressed the growing noise around his player’s future with a touch of humor.
He said, “When we were in France, during the preparation, journalists told me he was about to sign with PSG,” Fae said.
“Here, they tell me he’s about to sign with Liverpool!
“I don’t know, but for now, he will focus on the World Cup, and then afterwards, he can think about the rest of his career.”
Fae was quick to stress, however, that the comments were not meant to be taken literally.
He went on to praise Diomande in glowing terms, saying he could barely put into words how talented the youngster is, while also highlighting his maturity.
He described Diomande as hard working, a player with real team spirit who gets on with everyone, listens closely to coaching staff, and always tries to apply what he is told.
Fae added that it is easy to work with a player like Diomande, someone who has the talent and mentality to win you matches, and who gave Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie, a Champions League finalist, a difficult night.
That last point was backed up by the numbers.
According to Opta, Hincapie was dribbled past four times during the match, the most by any defender so far at this World Cup.
For context, the Arsenal man was dribbled past only 19 times across 39 appearances in the Premier League last season, a rate of just 0.62 per 90 minutes.
Diomande’s club form has only added fuel to the transfer talk.
He finished the Bundesliga season with 12 goals and 9 assists for RB Leipzig, form that earned him the league’s Rookie of the Season award.
Leipzig are reportedly valuing him at around £112 million, with Liverpool said to have already made contact and PSG also strongly interested.
For now, though, both player and manager insist the focus remains entirely on the World Cup, with transfer talk firmly on hold until Ivory Coast’s tournament run comes to an end.