Liverpool’s Plan for Salah’s Successor: The Focus on Yan Diomande
Liverpool’s Salah succession plan has taken a sharp, expensive turn towards Germany – and all roads currently lead to Yan Diomande.
The 19-year-old RB Leipzig winger, already one of the most coveted young wide players in Europe, has moved to the top of Liverpool’s shortlist as the club prepares for life after Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian will walk away from Anfield at the end of the season after nine glittering years, leaving a void in goals, aura and sheer reliability that Liverpool simply cannot afford to misjudge.
Inside the club, there is a growing belief they may already have identified the answer.
Liverpool’s €100m question
Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s new sporting director, is convinced Diomande fits the profile. Dynamic, direct, fearless in one‑v‑one situations – and still raw enough to mould. But Leipzig know exactly what they have on their hands and are in no mood to sell on the cheap or ahead of schedule.
Leipzig’s stance is blunt. They want to keep their “prized asset” for at least another year, confident his value will soar. Any conversation, sources insist, starts at around €100m (£87m, $116m) and could climb towards €120m (£104m, $140m). For a teenager with only a handful of senior seasons behind him, it is a price bracket reserved for the elite.
Liverpool have been laying the groundwork for months. Initial contacts over a move to Anfield were made as far back as December, long before Salah’s departure was confirmed. The plan was always to be early, to be ready, to avoid a panicked scramble in a seller’s market.
Leipzig, though, hold the cards. For now.
World Cup stage, Anfield spotlight
Diomande’s value and visibility ticked up another notch on Sunday. In Ivory Coast’s 1-0 World Cup win over Ecuador, he tormented Arsenal defender Piero Hincapié, driving at him repeatedly, completing four dribbles and offering a constant outlet down the flank.
From the touchline, national coach Emerse Fae watched a teenager playing with the swagger of a man who knows Europe’s biggest clubs are circling.
“Yan – what can I say? I can’t put it into words,” Fae admitted afterwards. “He’s very talented, but beyond the talent, he’s very young, and he’ll improve.
“He’s a kid who works hard, has a real team spirit, laughs with everyone, and he listens, listens to the technical staff whenever he’s given advice, and tries to do his best, as he’s told.
“It’s easy to work with someone like Yan, he’s so talented and has what is needed, plus he can give you the victory and was a real challenge for Hincapié, a Champions League finalist.”
That last line will not have gone unnoticed at Liverpool. Troubling a Champions League finalist at 19, on the World Cup stage, is exactly the kind of reference point recruitment departments cling to.
The noise around his future is already deafening. Fae has heard it from all angles.
“When we were in France, during the preparation, journalists told me he was about to sign with PSG,” he said. “Here, they tell me he’s about to sign with Liverpool!
“I don’t know, but for now, he will focus on the World Cup, and then afterwards, he can think about the rest of his career…”
The message is clear: no deals, no distractions until Ivory Coast’s tournament is over. After that, the scramble begins.
A swap that changes everything?
Those Leipzig demands mean Liverpool cannot simply throw cash at the problem. They need angles. They need creativity.
One option on the table is a swap that would send Cody Gakpo to Leipzig as part of a package. The Dutchman, still highly rated in Germany and capable of operating across the front line, could significantly reduce the fee and give Leipzig a ready-made attacking piece in return.
For Liverpool, it would be a ruthless but familiar calculation. Trade a good player to land one they believe can be great. Gakpo has had moments at Anfield, but has not yet nailed down an undisputed starting role. Diomande, in contrast, is viewed as a potential cornerstone of the next attacking era.
Crucially, the player himself is understood to be keen. The 19-year-old has, according to strong claims, already given the green light to a move to Anfield. That does not bulldoze Leipzig’s resistance, but it does tilt the dynamic. When a young star wants one club, that club tends to wait, and push, and wait some more.
Patience, though, will be essential. With Fae shutting down talks until after the World Cup, Liverpool’s pursuit risks becoming a long summer saga rather than a swift, clean strike.
Barcola in the frame
Diomande is not the only winger on Liverpool’s radar. With Salah leaving, the club is not just replacing a right-sided forward; it is rebuilding the entire attacking threat.
Bradley Barcola has emerged as another serious option. The PSG winger, highly regarded for his pace and ability to stretch defences, wants to leave Paris, according to reporter Graeme Bailey. Liverpool and Arsenal are both tracking him, with the expectation that any deal would also fall firmly into the “big money” category.
The strategy is obvious. Liverpool are not shopping for stopgaps. They are hunting for prime or pre‑prime wingers who can define the next five to seven years at the top of the pitch.
Diomande, Barcola – different players, similar bracket. Expensive, explosive, and in demand.
For now, the clock ticks quietly in the background. Diomande focuses on Ivory Coast. Leipzig hold their price. Liverpool weigh up whether Gakpo becomes a makeweight in a generational bet.
Salah’s farewell season is almost done. The question is no longer whether Liverpool can replace him like-for-like. It is whether they are bold enough to reshape the front line around a 19-year-old who has already said “yes” – and a selling club that will only listen if the offer screams that Liverpool truly mean it.
