Why Liverpool see Yan Diomande as the next Mohamed Salah – and how close he really is

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 6 Mar 2026 17:53 GMT
• 5 min read

Analysis

Liverpool have pinpointed RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande as a replacement for Mohamed Salah.

Salah’s future increasingly looks to lie away from Anfield, despite the Saudi Pro League’s dramatic drop in valuation of the Egypt star.

Diomande has been anointed as the replacement for the 33-year-old at Anfield, with Sky Sport Deutschland announcing a likely summer deal, but just how accurate is this description of the Bundesliga-based youngster, and is it something he can live up to on Merseyside?

Current ETV

Yan Diomande

F (RL)

RB Leipzig

Yan Diomande

F (RL)

RB Leipzig

€27.7M

ETV Range

€25M - €30.5M

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Playing style: How do Diomande and Salah compare?

Diomande was primarily known as a left winger prior to this season, yet he has switched to the right with some success at Leipzig. Indeed, all of his nine Bundesliga goals have arrived when he has started on that flank, with five of his six league assists following.

The 19-year-old, who stands marginally taller than Salah, is primarily right footed, but would add an extra dimension to Liverpool because of this. Unlike the Reds icon, who relies heavily on his left foot, Diomande is far more capable of both sides, making him less predictable and more able to attack in a variety of different ways. It would also provide the team with more tactical weapons.

In terms of style, Salah’s one-footedness makes him an ideal inside forward. There is less evidence of this in Diomande’s play, particularly off the right wing, where he operates primarily as a more classic winger.

This season, Diomande has been a more direct dribbling threat than Salah, and while his shot count is marginally lower, he has offered better accuracy, boasting more shots on target and twice as many goals per 90 minutes played while maintaining a virtually identical assist record.

Diomande has the talent

The big question Liverpool will be asking is: how good can Diomande become?

Data analytics firm SciSports believe that Diomande can become an elite performer. He has a ceiling higher than any Liverpool player is currently performing to, but much of this is untapped. It will rely on him continuing to progress at the rapid pace that has been evident in Leipzig.

SciSports predicts that he will never reach the heights that Salah attained, yet at his best, the Egypt star was the best in the world. That’s a hard act to live up to.

SciSports calculates this by SciSkill, a value given to every player based on hundreds of in-game data points. The higher the figure, the better the player.

Salah’s score sits at 112.2 while Diomande is way back on 80.4 but rising fast. Indeed, his potential is estimated to be 121.0. This score would, today, make him a top-five right winger in the world, behind Michael Olise and Lamine Yamal, and only just trailing Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden.

Salah enjoyed a rapid and unexpected rise at Liverpool, and now the Anfield side appears to be hopeful that Diomande can do the same.

Leipzig’s transfer fee a potential sticking point

One major sticking point in the deal comes in the form of transfer fee.

Leipzig are demanding €80 million for their young talent, with this figure revised down from reports they wanted €100m earlier this season.

Despite his enormous ceiling, Diomande’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) sits at only €27.7m.

The Reds have already taken a risk in signing Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes for a fee far bigger than his ETV, yet the €64m deal they struck for the Frenchman still sits somewhat below the initial demand of the Bundesliga side.

For Liverpool, it could boil down to a question of faith. If they believe Diomande can hit the heights at Anfield, then paying €80m for a player who could potentially have a decade or more excelling in the Premier League seems a bargain.

Will Diomande fit in at Liverpool?

There are doubts over whether Diomande will be able to excel at Anfield. SciSports’ Career Advice tool gives the Reds a Club Fit score of 65 based on a variety of factors, from development and playing time to formation and style.

In particular, there are concerns that Arne Slot’s system will not suit him ideally, and that would seem to suggest that there would, at least, be some bedding-in time required for the best version of the teenager to appear.

If he were to be Salah’s replacement, that could require a lot of patience from the Kop.

Given the trials of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz to settle this season, the Liverpool fanbase has shown itself to have that willingness to give players time to settle, so this may encourage the Reds to make a move and would surely hope any prospective deal be successful.

He’s no Salah… yet

The ingredients to make Diomande a great player are certainly there, but he’s not a Salah-level player yet and is unlikely to match the Egyptian at his very best. But then again, who can?