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One of the most exciting young wingers at this summer’s World Cup, Yan Diomande has been turning heads – and now his next club looks increasingly likely to be Paris Saint-Germain, despite Liverpool’s best efforts to lure the teenager to Merseyside.
The 19-year-old Ivorian, who has been making waves for Côte d’Ivoire during the tournament, has reportedly made his preference crystal clear.
According to reports from The Athletic and confirmed by L’Équipe, Diomande has told PSG directly that he wants to join the Parisian project this summer.
Liverpool had been pushing hard for the winger in recent weeks and had already made contact with the German club, but the player’s own desire to move to Paris has effectively shifted the balance of power.
That personal preference is now central to how PSG is structuring its approach.
Diomande is expected to earn less at PSG than he would have at Liverpool, a compromise the player appears willing to make in favour of the Parisian project.
The gap between what PSG and Liverpool are offering RB Leipzig is, however, substantial. According to L’Équipe, Liverpool’s opening proposals reportedly exceeded €100 million. PSG are expected to come in well below that figure.
It’s claimed the approach is aided in part by the strong personal relationship between PSG president Nasser al-Khelaïfi and RB Leipzig supervisory board chairman Oliver Mintzlaff.
Both presidents share a seat on the board of the EFC club union. That connection, along with broader collaboration between QSI and Red Bull, gives Paris a diplomatic lever that pure finances cannot replicate.
Negotiations between the clubs were described as “very close” to a conclusion over the weekend, with PSG confident that a full agreement can be finalised quickly — ideally in time for Diomande to join up with the squad following Côte d’Ivoire’s World Cup exit and a period of rest.
The signing would form part of a wider reshaping of PSG’s attack, compensating for the departures of Gonçalo Ramos and Lee Kang-in.