Liverpool still benefit as PSG wingers reassigned after Diomande capture | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain have thrown a spanner in the works for Liverpool’s plans by becoming Yan Diomande’s preferred next club. But could opportunity now knock for anyone trying to raid PSG themselves?

Liverpool wanted Diomande as their top target to replace Mohamed Salah, even making a proposal to RB Leipzig. But it fell on deaf ears, not convincing the selling club and seemingly not convincing the player either.

Indeed, it’s now become clear that Diomande wants to join PSG instead. The same PSG who want to sign Maghnes Akliouche from Monaco too. Because the back-to-back Champions League winners don’t have enough attacking quality.

Chances are PSG will want to keep as deep a squad as possible. But you wouldn’t be surprised if one or two clubs come knocking for one of their existing attackers in case Diomande and Akliouche push them down the pecking order.

We’ve picked out a most likely next club for each of PSG’s forwards if they were to become a casualty of Diomande’s potential arrival. But they absolutely won’t all go…

Bradley Barcola – Arsenal

Tipped by some as the player Liverpool should turn to next instead of Diomande – how vengeful of them that would be – there’s a risk with Barcola that they might be playing catch-up already.

Arsenal have been linked with the Frenchman and that might be a better match stylistically.

After all, Barcola usually plays as a left winger, cutting onto his right foot. That’s the kind of territory where Arsenal are looking for an upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard.

Barcola would bring some dynamism to the wing for Arsenal and offer more goalscoring threat than the players he’d be replacing.

The Gunners are in the market for Morgan Rogers too, but he might be better suited as a number 10. Which opens up a whole other subplot about Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze, but – budget allowing – would leave the door ajar for an explosive left winger.

Desire Doue – Liverpool

There might still be light at the end of the tunnel for Liverpool, though, if they can revive their interest in Doue.

Doue is closer to Diomande in that he favours his right foot and plays on the right wing. His dribbling ability is a major asset and he’s not far off a ratio of scoring once every other start for PSG.

PSG will be eager to keep hold of Doue, a long-term prospect at the age of 21, but it’ll be interesting to see how he responds to the competition from Diomande.

Doue has more top-level experience and it’d be a travesty if his career was to stagnate.

A move to Liverpool, who have shown interest before, could give him a platform to star from.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Real Madrid

Kvaratshelia is surely going nowhere just 18 months and 27 goals after joining PSG from Napoli.

The talented Georgian won’t be as directly threatened by Diomande’s arrival as someone who operates on the left-hand side, but it’s not out of the question that his new teammate could end up fighting for the same position. It’s somewhere he’s played plenty of times for Leipzig.

In the unlikely event Kvaratskhelia does move on from Paris, it’s going to be for something big. At 25, it feels like he’s at the peak of his powers.

A dream destination for Kvaratskhelia would be Real Madrid, a team not in PSG’s class right now but a club with more historic allure.

“His father and I support Barcelona, ​​but Kvara loves Real,” Kvaratskhelia’s agent let slip a few years ago, when his client was still at Napoli.

Some dominoes – in the shape of a Vinicius Junior exit – would probably need to fall for Kvaratskhelia to end up at the Bernabeu, but it’s something that would certainly turn his head.

Ibrahim Mbaye – Aston Villa

A more likely leaver on the back of PSG’s attacking revamp is their 18-year-old academy graduate Mbaye.

Currently at the World Cup with Senegal, Mbaye has played 41 times for PSG so far, but only 15 of those games have been starts.

There have been whispers about his future already this summer, even before these Diomande developments.

Some French sources have been quite strongly talking up a move to Aston Villa, which would be a good environment for him to develop.

Lee Kang-in – Atletico Madrid

Sounds like a goer, this one.

Fabrizio Romano says Lee is in advanced talks with Atletico Madrid, who could take the former Valencia and Mallorca man back to La Liga after a three-year stay in the French capital.

Ousmane Dembele – Al Nassr

Not so much a winger anymore as a centre-forward – and a pretty good one at that – Dembele isn’t someone PSG will want to be losing this summer.

He won the last Ballon d’Or and has been the Ligue 1 player of the season for the past two years. Paris is where he has fulfilled his potential.

But he’s only under contract for another couple of years, which puts a fraction of doubt on his future.

Could he come to the Premier League? Back to Barcelona? Whatever happens, it’d be an expensive one.

And that’s why a move to Saudi Arabia, a shame as it would be, might be the more believable route away from PSG for Dembele, who’s now 29.

Take your pick of a club over there, but Al Nassr are the reigning champions and are going to need their next Cristiano Ronaldo soon.

Dro Fernandez – Borussia Dortmund

Fernandez has only recently joined PSG, who signed him from Barcelona and have given him 13 appearances so far.

At 18, he’s going to have to be patient for gametime, but a belief he could get it at the Parc des Princes is what tempted him away from Barcelona in the first place.

If opportunities become limited, don’t be too surprised if Fernandez looks for a loan move.

Borussia Dortmund are one club who were linked with him before his PSG move and also faintly since. They have a strong track record of developing talented forwards and could provide a good platform for Dro if he became available.

Quentin Ndjantou – Rennes

Not a household name yet but Ndjantou broke through into the PSG first team last season and made 15 appearances in all.

He turns 19 this summer so will need gametime to keep developing. Rennes were tipped to give him that via a loan deal in January but it never materialised.

If the interest was genuine, it might be worth reviving. Rennes would also be able to give Ndjantou a taste of European football after qualifying for the Europa League.