Yan Diomande named Rookie of the Season | OneFootball

After a brilliant first campaign with RB Leipzig, Yan Diomande has now been named as the Bundesliga's Rookie of the Season. Werder Bremen legend Claudio Pizarro presented him with his trophy and congratulated him on his performances across the campaign.

Yan came out on top in the vote ahead of Hamburg’s Luka Vuskovic and Leverkusen’s Ibrahim Maza. The overall result was made up of a fan vote, which counted for 40%, as well as votes from the clubs and selected Bundesliga experts, each weighted at 30%.

Impressive numbers

The stats speak for themselves: Yan Diomande has scored 13 goals in all competitions this season, with only Christoph Baumgartner (17) managing more for RBL. Yan even leads Baumi for assists, having set up 10 goals – one more than the Austria international.

Yan has stood out in plenty of other areas too. No player in the league attempted more take-ons (145), contested more duels (791) or won more duels (437) than him. His challenge success rate of 55.2% is remarkable for an attacking player. With a top speed of 36.3 km/h, he was also the fourth-fastest player of the season.

Yan Diomande succeeds Michael Olise

The right-footed attacker was named Rookie of the Month twice during the campaign, and has now been recognised for his performances across the season as a whole. He follows in the footsteps of Bayern star Michael Olise, who won the Rookie of the Season award last year.

At the start of the season, few would have predicted just how quickly our summer signing would develop. Looking back in a recent interview with kicker, Yan said: “Nobody knew me. I just wanted to help, repay the club’s trust and show my gratitude. I don’t think many people expected the plan to work out this well straight away.”

Ole Werner praises “exceptional talent”

RBL head coach Ole Werner handed Yan Diomande 28 Bundesliga starts this season. Asked about his player, Werner was full of praise: “He has a fantastic character, he’s a good lad and an exceptional talent.”

Our number 49 is keeping his feet on the ground despite all the praise. Yan stressed: “Nothing is ever perfect. You always have to keep learning, and that’s what I’m trying to do.” Even so, he is pleased with how his first Bundesliga season has gone. “I’ve improved a lot as a player and grown as a person,” said Yan.

The Rookie of the Season award is a fitting reward.

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