Liverpool offered chance to hijack Yan Diomande deal in Chelsea repeat

7 Jul 2026 19:02 BST | 4 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

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Liverpool have been given some faint hope that they could yet sign top target Yan Diomande following the news that PSG are in no rush to finalise a deal with RB Leipzig.

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The Ivory Coast international has been one of the protagonists of this nascent summer transfer window after a breakout season at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, followed up with some encouraging performances for his country at the World Cup.

Diomande has been linked with various top clubs since the spring, but in recent weeks two favourites for the teenager's signature have crystallised: Liverpool and PSG.

Current ETV

Yan Diomande

F (RL), M (L)

RB Leipzig

Yan Diomande

F (RL), M (L)

RB Leipzig

ETV Range

€33.1M - €40.4M

The 19-year-old previously claimed that it would be a dream to play for the Reds, and the Merseyside duly made a strong move for him by offering Leipzig a whopping €100 million financial package.

However, the bid was rebuffed, and Diomande also backtracked on his comments. In fact, he later insisted that joining PSG would actually be a dream come true!

Diomande hijack on?

The situation became clearer last week when it emerged that Diomande had chosen PSG as his preferred destination. An agreement on a five-year contract is understood to already be in place.

That effectively ended Liverpool's pursuit of the winger, and yet there is still some hope for the Reds, who previously viewed Diomande as their top target to reinforce the wide positions.

According to L'Equipe, PSG are in no rush to secure a deal for the 19-year-old. The Ligue 1 champions feel secure in the knowledge that Diomande wants to join and are taking their time in negotiations with Leipzig.

PSG are in constant contact with the Bundesliga outfit and say that they won't be held to ransom. They are looking to get the best possible deal, while Leipzig continue to insist that Diomande is not for sale unless an extraordinary offer arrives.

It has been reported that it could take a fee north of €120m to prise him away from the Red Bull club, and PSG clearly appear reluctant to pay that much after just one full season of elite football.

Could Liverpool still swoop in and hijack the deal? History suggests that they could. We only need to look back at the Xavi Simons saga last summer, when Tottenham beat Chelsea to his signature.

Simons had been unequivocal in his desire to move to Stamford Bridge, which lulled Chelsea into a false sense of security. They spent weeks haggling with Leipzig over a fee, with most transfer reports saying that a deal was effectively done.

And yet, when all was said and done, the Netherlands international actually ended up in North London because Chelsea and Leipzig just could not reach an agreement.

It could be a similar story for Diomande this summer. If the situation remains deadlocked come the end of the month, who's to say that Liverpool won't feel emboldened to make another push for the Ivorian wonderkid?

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