‘He really is special’ – Liverpool eyeing £88m Bundesliga gem who ‘everyone is talking about’ | OneFootball

Liverpool are reportedly among a number of English and European clubs eyeing a move for an up-and-coming Bundesliga talent.

The German top flight was a much-utilised market for the Reds during the summer transfer window, with Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz both joining from Bayer Leverkusen and Hugo Ekitike acquired from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Sporting director Richard Hughes could plausibly look towards Germany again, and more specifically a teenage winger who’s earning rave reviews.

Liverpool monitoring RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande

According to TBR Football, Liverpool and the other so-called ‘big 6’ Premier League clubs have all been monitoring the progress of RB Leipzig youngster Yan Diomande, who joined from Spanish side Leganes during the summer.

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have also been alerted to the 18-year-old’s eye-catching performances in the Bundesliga, and transfer insider Graeme Bailey has spoken about just how highly the teenager is regarded.

He explained: “Diomande is the one everyone is talking about and looking at. He really is special. I am told Red Bull think he could be their greatest prospect since Erling Haaland. Leipzig say there is no release clause, and already he is being talked about in the £88m category.

“From what I am hearing from scouts and clubs, there is not a player currently in Europe who has clubs more excited. Could he have a third club in 18 months, come next summer? It’s not beyond the realms of possibility.”

(Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Could Liverpool draw on Klopp factor to land Diomande?

Diomande doesn’t turn 19 until later this month, but he’s already netted twice in as many caps for Ivory Coast, along with plundering two goals and three assists in his last couple of games for RB Leipzig.

He’s capable of operating on either flank, and Bailey’s glowing praise illustrates just how high a ceiling the youngster appears to have.

Liverpool have a trump card that they might be able to play if a genuine transfer race were to materialise – Jurgen Klopp is Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, and in his time at Anfield he signed several players who’d come through the energy drink’s footballing portfolio (Sadio Mane, Naby Keita, Ibrahima Konate, Dominik Szoboszlai).

Diomande’s dribbling ability is evidenced by statistics from FBref – he ranks among the top 1% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for progressive carries (6.94) and successful take-ons (4.27) per game, along with the top 9% for shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (4.98).

Having only made 20 senior career appearances, the sample size for the Ivorian winger is still quite limited, and it’d certainly be an extreme leap of faith to pay £88m for him.

However, with so many clubs monitoring his progress and such a lofty appraisal from Bailey, it’s quite apparent that the 18-year-old is a remarkable talent, and we can expect to hear plenty more of his name in the rumour mill in the coming weeks and months.