From Abidjan to Leipzig, Yan Diomandé’s extraordinary rise and a 90 million valuation | OneFootball

Yan Diomandé, 19, has only 18 months of senior football yet is already valued at 90 million euros and tracked by giants including PSG. His sparkling World Cup bow for Côte d'Ivoire, a 1-0 win over Ecuador, hardly cooled the frenzy.

According to L'Équipe, the Leipzig winger produced 12 league goals and 9 assists this season after seven months at Leganés when they were in La Liga.

Spotted at a trial in Yopougon, Abidjan, he joined the fledgling AFI sud Comoé academy for more than five years. President Dez Bamba recalls a tireless boy who was not initially the most gifted.

His breakout came at the UFOA U17 tournament in Ghana in June 2022, where he scored five. Scouts flooded in from Leganés to Rennes, but at 16 he could not leave. A Russian academy, FC Vista, had moved early, yet his mentor blocked the switch.

A workaround sent him to the United States with DM Academy and a local amateur side until he turned 18, a stint he struggled to embrace, while intermediaries circled. On the day of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations final he rang Bamba about a Chelsea medical, an episode that preceded detours to Olympiakos and finally Leganés.

He made his professional debut with four minutes against Real Madrid in March 2025. Leipzig then pounced, paying 20 million after seven starts, a club Diomandé did not even know until Bamba endorsed the move.

Bamba describes a diligent worker who embraced the gym, learned to attack on the outside and owns a notably strong weaker foot. Questions persist over his entourage, with three agents in a year and a half and a FIFA dispute with Leganés, while he is now represented by Roc Nation after a call from Vinicius. Côte d'Ivoire coach Emerse Faé liked his carefree arrival when he called him up in October 2025, and Bamba foresees a move, with PSG mentioned and Liverpool a club the winger has said he likes, while Anfield is his mentor’s dream visit.

Source: L'Équipe