Liverpool have been linked with a move for RB Leipzig sensation Yann Diomande ahead of the summer transfer window, with the German side confirming what it would take to make a sale.
Diomande has scored 11 goals for Leipzig this season (Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool are expected to sign Yann Diomande as current team RB Leipzig are in need of a major sale ahead of the summer. The Ivorian only joined the German club from Leganes in the summer but has made a huge impression.
Diomande, 19, has scored 11 goals and provided seven assists for Leipzig this season, and his performances have drawn praise from other players including Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
And although Leipzig are keen to keep him for the time being, their move appears to be unavoidable. According to Germany’s Sky, the Bundesliga side will need to raise around 100 million euros (approximately £86.5 million) even if they qualify for the Champions League.
There is one big sale, with Diomande and defender Castello Lucaba potentially leaving the club, but a number of smaller sales cannot be ruled out. Both Lukaba and Diomande could leave if Leipzig fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Leipzig currently sit in fifth place in the Bundesliga table, but goal difference keeps them outside the top four. Diomande has over four years left on his contract with the club.
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The teenager has already spoken out about a potential move to Liverpool and disputed reports that the Reds are a ‘dream’ destination for him at some point in the future. He said: “People thought it was my dream club, but first and foremost it’s my father’s favorite club.”
“He loves the atmosphere at Anfield so it was his big wish to see me play there one day. He always raved about Steven Gerrard.
“I was too young to watch him play. For a long time we didn’t even have a TV at home. I respect Liverpool a lot, but my dream club now is Leipzig.”
Yann Diomande has shone for Leipzig this season (Image: Getty Images)
One of the Reds’ links is, of course, former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who remains Red Bull’s head of world football. Diomande knows the German well but admitted a potential move to Anfield was never on the table.
He said: “No, not really. But we talk sometimes. He tells me to stay humble and keep working hard. It was my dream to play for one of his teams.”
“Nowadays that’s just not possible. But to be so close now, to talk and shake hands, it’s incredible. He’s a legend. Sometimes I feel like I’m in a movie.”
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