Agent says Sunderland held talks over Yan Diomande before Leipzig switch | OneFootball

“During negotiations with Leipzig, things also became very concrete with Sunderland. However, they didn’t want to trigger the release clause.”

Yan Diomande’s agent, Wolfgang Meier, told Sky Sports.

“Many other clubs who could have paid the €20million said they found the player very interesting, but a transfer was too risky due to his limited playing time. Of the big Bundesliga clubs, only Borussia Dortmund showed interest in him.”

“I was surprised that Bayer Leverkusen didn’t even consider him, as in my opinion, he would have been the ideal fit for the club. Instead, they opted for Ben Seghir from Monaco.”

“No information leaked until the day before Yan signed. Only on the last day did clubs like VfL Wolfsburg and Sporting suddenly want to jump in.”

The 19-year-old joined Leipzig from Leganes last summer after the Bundesliga side triggered his €20million clause, around £17m, and handed him a five-year deal.

He scored in the DFB-Pokal against SV Sandhausen and opened his Bundesliga account in a 6-0 win at Augsburg. Later he hit a hat-trick in a 6-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, becoming the second-youngest to achieve the feat in Bundesliga history behind Walter Bechtold in 1965.

Source: Sunderland Echo