Liverpool urged to make transfer to signal Bundesliga ahead
Liverpool’s recruitment conversations hardly ever occur in a vacuum, and when a former striker who is aware of the membership inside out begins speaking a few particular profile of ahead, it’s price listening. Emile Heskey has made no secret of his admiration for RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, a participant he believes might inject a dose of unpredictability into Liverpool’s assault at a time when it has sometimes seemed too straightforward to learn.
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Curiosity in Diomande just isn’t new. Reviews final month urged that Liverpool maintain the strongest curiosity amongst a rising queue of suitors, a listing that displays each the participant’s age and his speedy rise within the Bundesliga. At 19, the Ivory Coast worldwide already carries the type of popularity that tends to inflate value tags, with claims from Germany that Leipzig would solely contemplate gives within the area of €100m.
That determine alone explains why Liverpool’s choice makers are nonetheless very a lot within the pondering stage reasonably than the bidding stage, however the dialogue itself is revealing. Beneath Arne Slot, who guided Liverpool to a Premier League title in his debut season in 2024/25, there was a transparent emphasis on construction and management. What has sometimes been lacking is chaos.
Emile Heskey on Diomande’s attacking menace
Heskey didn’t hedge his enthusiasm when requested whether or not Diomande needs to be a precedence goal.
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“Somebody like Yan Diomande provides you that unpredictability and runs in behind and creates probabilities. The factor with Diomande is which you can put him up entrance as properly.
“Defenders don’t like when gamers are operating behind on a regular basis, and that’s what he does as a result of he’s a winger.
“These are the issues that I feel forwards have misplaced a bit of bit. Typically now, they don’t need to become involved within the sport. They need to wait within the field, however we want these gamers, particularly after [Luis] Diaz left.
“The defenders must take two steps again when enjoying towards Diomande, which creates extra room, after which different gamers can produce extra.”
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Heskey’s level is much less about uncooked numbers and extra about behaviour. Forwards who threaten house power choices, and choices create errors.
Photograph: IMAGO
Yan Diomande profile matches Liverpool wants
January supplied a reminder of Liverpool’s occasional attacking inertia, with a run of attracts prompting criticism that the construct up had turn into ponderous and predictable. A latest burst of targets has eased the noise, however two excessive scoring outings don’t erase deeper questions on stability and selection.
Diomande’s attraction lies in how straight he addresses these questions. With fast ft and tempo to burn, he performs on the entrance foot, prepared to take duty in large areas and commit defenders. He’s snug on both flank and might function centrally when required, a versatility that issues in a squad constructed round rotation and positional interchange.
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There’s finish product to assist the highlights. Eight targets and 6 assists in 21 video games this season underline that he’s not merely ornamental. Extra telling is his dribbling output. He has accomplished 60 profitable dribbles within the Bundesliga, comfortably the very best whole within the league, a statistic that backs up Heskey’s eye take a look at.
Liverpool weighing price towards upside
None of this makes the choice simple. A possible £87.2m funding calls for certainty, or a minimum of conviction. Liverpool have been disciplined underneath Slot, favouring profile and match over headline signings.
But Diomande represents one thing Liverpool supporters instinctively reply to, the sense that one thing would possibly occur each time he receives the ball. That feeling has been rarer of late.
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If Liverpool resolve to push the button, they’d be shopping for potential, unpredictability and a ahead who forces defences to retreat. Heskey has made his case, now it’s as much as Liverpool to resolve whether or not the upside justifies the outlay.