Liverpool have identified their ‘top target’ to replace Mo Salah, but it could cost £87m to lure him from his current club.
Yan Diomande has frequently been touted as one of the Reds’ primary targets for the summer transfer window, and David Lynch claimed over the weekend that the RB Leipzig winger is ‘definitely’ on FSG’s radar.
On Monday evening, two notable updates emerged from Germany regarding the 19-year-old.
Firstly, Florian Plettenberg posted on X: ‘Yan Diomande is now Liverpool’s top target to replace Mo Salah, with the move approved by all LFC decision-makers.
‘Concrete talks are ongoing with his new representatives at Roc Nation Sports, although no agreement has been reached yet and the clubs have not entered negotiations. RB Leipzig are keen to adjust his salary and extend his contract. PSG, led by Luis Campos, are also in the race and have already held a meeting with his agents.’
A few hours later, his Sky Sports Germany colleague Philipp Hinze shared (via X): ‘RB Leipzig are now demanding more than €100m for Yan Diomande. Since qualification for the Champions League is very realistic, Leipzig no longer have financial pressure to sell.
‘Diomande’s value is rising. The €20m transfer fee paid to Leganés last summer has, in the club’s view, more than quintupled in value. Meanwhile, Leipzig are planning a contract adjustment, including a salary increase, to keep Diomande until 2027.
‘Leipzig are fighting to retain the Ivorian for another season. But: Diomande is not untouchable. Depends on potential offers.’
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The task of replacing Salah will be a gargantuan one for Liverpool, but there seems an increasing conviction at the club that, in time, Diomande might be capable of having a transformative impact at Anfield.
The Ivory Coast international netted his 13th goal of the season in Leipzig’s 3-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend, taking him to five goals and two assists in his last nine Bundesliga outings as he enjoys a rich vein of form (Transfermarkt).
The 19-year-old’s underlying performance metrics in comparison to his German top-flight peers (as per Fotmob) mark him out as an all-action winger who loves to take on opponents one-on-one and has the output to accompany his trickery.
It’s easy to see why Liverpool would be keen on signing Diomande, and why his current club are striving to keep him and prepared to offer him an improved contract, with a likely Champions League qualification increasing their scope to do so.
FSG need to recruit a top-shelf replacement for Salah; that is non-negotiable. If luring Michael Olise from Bayern Munich proves to be impossible, then the Anfield hierarchy must go all-out at trying to land his Leipzig counterpart, who could make the right-winger berth his own for years to come if this season’s form is extrapolated across numerous campaigns.
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