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Why Liverpool’s Interest in Diomande Says as Much About Wirtz as It Does the Market

Liverpool’s season has developed a habit of drifting between promise and frustration, between flashes of clarity and moments that feel unresolved. Even in periods where results flatten, the club’s broader thinking rarely does. Recruitment, after all, has long been Liverpool’s quiet constant. And so, amid the noise of dropped points and tactical recalibration, reports linking the club with RB Leipzig’s  feel less like idle speculation and more like a continuation of a familiar idea.

According to Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Liverpool remain interested in Diomande, a claim echoed and expanded upon by Football FanCast, which framed the 19-year-old as a potential dream teammate for Florian Wirtz. The suggestion matters not just because of the eye-watering figures involved, but because of what it reveals about how Liverpool see their new attacking axis evolving.

Wirtz as Liverpool’s reference point

Wirtz arrived at Anfield carrying both expectation and symbolism. He was not simply another elite signing, but a player around whom patterns of play could bend. In recent weeks, his form has begun to stabilise: four goals and an assist since Christmas hint at a player learning his surroundings, even if the collective structure around him remains uneven.

That context matters when considering Liverpool’s reported interest in Diomande. This is not merely about adding another winger to an already crowded attacking department. It is about complementing Wirtz’s instincts. Creative players of his type thrive on movement, on chaos generated ahead of them, on teammates capable of destabilising defensive shapes before the decisive pass is played.

Football FanCast’s original report notes that Liverpool are exploring precisely that idea: finding a player who can amplify Wirtz rather than overlap him. Diomande’s profile fits neatly into that thinking.

Diomande profile and production

At just 19, Diomande’s output already reads like that of a player several seasons older. Seven goals and four assists in 18 appearances this season, spread across just over 1,100 minutes, equates to a goal involvement roughly every 105 minutes. That level of efficiency is striking in isolation, but it becomes more compelling when paired with the nature of his involvement.

Diomande is not a peripheral finisher. He is central to Leipzig’s attacking rhythm: direct in possession, aggressive in transition, and unusually diligent without the ball. FBref data places him in the top percentiles across Europe’s major leagues for successful take-ons, progressive carries and ball recoveries. This is not just a winger who beats his man; it is one who reclaims territory and sustains pressure.

For a Liverpool side still calibrating its pressing under Arne Slot, that duality matters. It suggests a player capable of functioning within a high-intensity system rather than merely decorating it.

Financial gamble versus strategic logic

The obstacle, inevitably, is cost. Earlier reports have suggested Leipzig could demand close to £100m, a figure that would place Diomande among the most expensive signings in Liverpool’s history. On the surface, it feels extravagant, particularly for a teenager.

Yet Liverpool’s recent recruitment history has rarely been about age alone. It has been about timing: identifying players before their value hardens into inevitability. Diomande’s price reflects potential, but it also reflects scarcity. Wingers who combine elite ball-carrying, defensive contribution and end product are increasingly rare, especially at such an early stage of development.

Plettenberg’s reporting adds another layer, noting that Red Bull Group managing director Oliver Mintzlaff has acknowledged Leipzig’s need to generate revenue. That does not make a deal simple, but it does frame it as possible.

What Diomande could unlock at Anfield

Ultimately, Liverpool’s interest in Diomande feels less like a reaction to short-term form and more like a projection of where the team wants to go. Wirtz, as a central creative force, needs runners who distort space, who force defenders into choices they do not want to make. Diomande’s game is built on precisely that disruption.

If Liverpool do move, it will be a statement not just about ambition, but about coherence. It would signal a desire to construct an attack with complementary skills rather than overlapping reputations. As Football FanCast’s analysis suggests, this is about synergy as much as stardom.

Whether Liverpool ultimately commit to such a vast outlay remains uncertain. But the interest alone tells its own story. In Diomande, Liverpool appear to see not just a winger, but a catalyst. And in doing so, they reveal how central Wirtz has already become to their thinking.