‘Yes’ – Fabrizio Romano talks up possibility of ‘big money’ exit for ‘exceptional’ Liverpool target
Fabrizio Romano has claimed that one Liverpool-linked winger is likely to leave his current club in the summer transfer window, although he dismissed a January exit as improbable.
The Reds are among numerous clubs to have been linked with RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande in recent months, and respected German reporter Christian Falk insisted last week (via CF Bayern Insider) that the Premier League champions should be taken ‘very, very seriously’ in the race for the 19-year-old.
According to TEAMtalk, the Ivory Coast international – who played in all five of their matches at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations – could command a fee as high as £104m, with the Bundesliga club under no pressure to sell a player whose current contract runs to 2030.
Romano expects summer transfer for Diomande
In an update on his eponymous YouTube channel, Romano didn’t mention Liverpool explicity when discussing the teenage winger, but he has talked up the chances of an exit from the Red Bull Arena this year.
The Italian transfer guru outlined: “If you ask me, ‘Do you think Yan Diomande will move in the summer?’ Yes.
“If you ask me if Diomande will move in January? I think this is going to be complicated because Leipzig already made big money last summer – Openda, Sesko, Xavi Simons – so they don’t need money now, but in the summer it could be a different story.”
Diomande has excelled in a number of areas this season
The 19-year-old has been turning heads with his performances at RB Leipzig, for whom he’s scored seven goals and set up another four in 17 appearances so far this season, and it’s not just those numbers which have made him stand out.
Thales Paterson – former Director of Soccer at DME Academy (Diomande’s alma mater) – described the Ivorian as ‘nothing short of exceptional’, also dubbing him a ‘gifted athlete’ and a ‘team player’; and his current coach Ole Werner described him as a ‘dynamic’ winger who excels at counterpressing (bundesliga.com).
As the figures below from FBref illustrate, the youngster ranks among the best players in his position in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for a series of underlying performance metrics, and not just of an attacking nature.
| Per 90 minutes | Percentile among positional peers | |
| Successful take-ons | 4.08 | 99th (top 1%) |
| Non-penalty goals | 0.5 | 97th |
| Progressive carries | 6.22 | 97th |
| Interceptions | 0.94 | 97th |
| Shot-creating actions | 5.21 | 93rd |
| Pass completion | 81.9% | 88th |
| Blocks | 1.26 | 87th |
| Tackles | 1.7 | 85th |
Capable of operating on either flank, he’d present Liverpool with a brilliantly versatile option who could potentially go on to become Mo Salah’s long-term successor and spend the bulk of his career at Anfield, should the Reds make him their latest recruit from RB Leipzig after Naby Keita, Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai.
As Romano’s update indicates, it seems more than likely that the livewire Diomande will be on the move in the summer, and we can expect a fervent race for his signature.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Barnsley press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
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