Liverpool and Tottenham Target Andreas Schjelderup as Winger Market Heats Up
Liverpool and Tottenham are circling one of Norway’s rising stars, with Andreas Schjelderup emerging as a fresh name on England’s winger market – even as Liverpool wrestle with the huge numbers attached to top target Yan Diomande.
Liverpool rebuild the flanks
Liverpool have already fired the starting gun on their wide rebuild. Victor Munoz is through the door, signed from Newcastle United in a €40million (£34.5m) deal that gives Cody Gakpo direct competition – and protection – on the left side.
They need more. Mohamed Salah has gone on a free, ripping a huge hole out of Liverpool’s right flank and their goals column. Gakpo, meanwhile, may have to spend time through the middle to support Alexander Isak until Hugo Ekitike returns from an Achilles injury. The knock-on effect is obvious: Liverpool’s depth out wide suddenly looks fragile.
That is why the club are pushing hard for Diomande at RB Leipzig, but they are not looking at him alone.
Schjelderup on Premier League radar
Reports in Italy claim Benfica’s Schjelderup is under active surveillance from Anfield. Tottenham are in the frame too. Both clubs are described as “following” the 22‑year‑old ahead of possible talks, while Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Como also keep a close eye on developments.
Schjelderup has momentum behind him. He featured in Norway’s first two World Cup group games, riding the wave of an eye-catching season with Benfica. Ten goals and seven assists in 43 appearances tell one part of the story; the other is that he did it in a side that went unbeaten in the Primeira Liga under Jose Mourinho, yet still somehow finished without the title.
Benfica paid €14m to bring him in. That looks like a bargain now. Initial estimates suggested his value has climbed to “more than double”, with a €30m (£26m) price floated. But in Portugal, Record report that Benfica will not even pick up the phone for anything under €40m.
Tottenham, according to that same report, have “burst” into the race, adding another Premier League heavyweight to an already crowded field. Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb has reinforced that view, backing up the idea of a straight fight between Liverpool and Spurs, with heavyweight European interest lurking in the background.
Diomande chase hits a pause
While Schjelderup’s price edges up, Diomande’s fee threatens to punch through the ceiling.
On Thursday, speculation ramped up that Liverpool had already gone back in for the Leipzig winger, raising their opening €100m (£86m) offer to a staggering €116m (£100m). That would have been one of the biggest statements of the window.
It was also wide of the mark.
Sky Germany’s Philipp Hinze moved quickly to shut the story down, calling the claim “not true” and making it clear there has been “not yet a second offer” from Liverpool. The club’s hierarchy are still locked in internal discussions over whether to return with a new bid, which could land somewhere between €116m and €120m (up to £104m).
An offer at the top end of that range would force Leipzig to think hard. It still might not be enough.
Leipzig, as revealed on June 19, are holding out for a Bundesliga-record €148m (£128m). They want Diomande to stay for at least one more season and are pricing him accordingly.
One versatile star, one positional puzzle
The contrast between the two targets is stark.
Schjelderup is primarily a left winger, the very area Liverpool have just reinforced with Munoz. He offers quality, but he does not solve the main structural problem left by Salah’s exit.
Diomande does. Leipzig’s wide man is comfortable on either flank, just as dangerous cutting in from the left as he is attacking from the right. For a squad that needs flexibility and end product across the front line, that versatility makes him the prize asset.
Liverpool, understandably, would prefer to land Diomande, even at a far higher cost. Schjelderup represents an intriguing alternative – especially with Spurs now pushing into the race – but he feels like a secondary option rather than the cornerstone of a new forward line.
So the question hangs over Anfield: do they blink first and test Leipzig’s resolve with a record-breaking offer, or risk watching Diomande stay put while a new generation of wingers, like Schjelderup, get snapped up elsewhere?
