Liverpool have no choice but to move on from Yan Diomande.
The outgoing Premier League champions invested a lot of time and effort into a deal for the RB Leipzig winger but have been left disappointed at the last minute.
19-year-old Diomande - currently at the FIFA World Cup with Cote d’Ivoire - will join Paris Saint-Germain in a nine-figure transfer if Leipzig decide to do business this summer.
It means Liverpool have to look elsewhere for wide forward reinforcements this summer following their proposal of up to €100m being rejected by Leipzig.
Wingers with one-v-one quality are a priority for Richard Hughes and Andoni Iraola in the offseason - with Victor Munoz already onboarded from Osasuna in a €40m deal.
But with Mo Salah leaving - and Federico Chiesa expected to join him - the Anfield club still need quality and quantity out wide. A report in TEAMtalk is now claiming that Reds recruiters have narrowed their wishlist down to three names.
With Diomande set to join PSG we could see double European champion Bradley Barcola eased out - and Liverpool will be right there for the France international’s signature.
“PSG star Bradley Barcola remains firmly at the top of their shortlist,” the report reads. “He is reportedly valued at around €90million (£77.6m / $102.6m).”
Barcola is a well-established talent but the report concludes that the Reds are willing to take a risk on a less-proven deal this summer.
Said El Mala, 19, enjoyed a breakthrough Bundesliga campaign with FC Koln - scoring 13 times - and he has now been catapulted up the Reds’ list of priority transfers.
“Liverpool’s attention is also turning towards Cologne winger Said El Mala,” the report continues.
“Structuring a transfer for the talented forward remains complicated. His family’s hope that any buying club would also sign his brother, Malek El Mala, has previously derailed talks.”
And finally we could see the Merseysiders move for another Ivorian talent tearing up the Bundesliga - Diomande’s international teammate Bazoumana Toure.
The 20-year-old left-footer joined Hoffenheim in 2025 from Hammarby in Sweden and has gone on to enjoy a productive start in German football.
The former ASEC Mimosas talent looks set for bigger and better things - although a move to Anfield this summer may come just a little too early in his journey.
“Hoffenheim’s Bazoumana Toure features on Liverpool’s radar as a longer-term option, too,” the report claims.
