Liverpool are targeting Yan Diomande as a priority market target. The 19-year-old Ivory Coast winger has stood out for the national team during the 2026 World Cup and entered the Reds' radar just a few months after his explosion at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
Diomande signed for the Red Bull universe in the summer of 2025, coming from Leganés, until 2030. RB Leipzig set the bar high: around 112 million pounds (130 million euros) for the transfer. With a long contract and room for maneuver, there is no guarantee that the German club will agree to sell this summer.
Competition is strong. Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have already expressed interest, with the Parisians having been a platform of choice for wingers in recent Champions League successes, and the Merengues add an obvious appeal to any young talent. ‘Los Blancos’ would even have entered the race in recent weeks.
Given this scenario, at Anfield they don't want to put all their chips on Diomande. According to Football Insider, sporting director Richard Hughes has a well-identified alternative: Antonio Nusa, Diomande's Leipzig teammate. The Norwegian, formerly of Club Brugge, is on Liverpool's list if the deal for the Ivorian international does not go ahead.
In 2024/25, Nusa played 35 games, with 5 goals and 4 assists for Leipzig. He arrived in Germany in 2024 for around 20 million pounds, has a contract until 2029 and would represent a substantially lower investment than his teammate's. In terms of profile, Diomande can play on both wings, while Nusa is used exclusively on the left flank.
Liverpool, evaluating the competitive and financial context, thus maintains two avenues open in the market: the large-scale investment by Diomande, an emerging figure from the 2026 World Cup, and the Nusa dossier as a more accessible and immediate solution.