Yan Diomande is the name on everyone’s lips right now. The 19-year-old RB Leipzig winger just finished a debut Bundesliga season with 13 goals and 10 assists. Then he went to the World Cup and made Piero Hincapie look like a traffic cone during Ivory Coast’s win over Ecuador. That performance alone probably added another 10 million euros to his price tag.
Manchester United thought they were priced out. Paris Saint-Germain looked like the frontrunner. Liverpool had him as Mohamed Salah’s replacement. But according to Sport Bild via Buli News, Diomande has given his green light to multiple clubs this summer. United, City, PSG, and Liverpool all believe they are in pole position. That doesn’t usually happen unless the player is keeping his options open and his agent is working the phones hard.
A bidding war nobody predicted a month ago
Leipzig signed Diomande from Leganés for 20 million euros last year. That was a gamble considering he had 542 minutes of senior football. Now they want at least 120 million euros to let him go. That would be a 100 million euro profit in one year. Leipzig’s scouting department should probably get a raise.
The problem for interested clubs is that none of them want to go above 100 million euros. PSG and Liverpool had been leading the conversations, with Diomande publicly favoring PSG because of their Champions League ambitions and the Ballon d’Or platform they’ve built with Ousmane Dembele. But if nobody is willing to pay Leipzig’s asking price, the player’s preference might not matter much.
United might have more money than they let on
The Red Devils had shifted their focus to a midfield rebuild this summer. They brought in Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans for a combined 85 million pounds. That’s roughly the same figure West Ham wanted for Mateus Fernandes, which United walked away from. So maybe there is still some cash left for a winger.
Crysencio Summerville from West Ham was being discussed as a backup option. The 24-year-old Dutchman is available for 50 million pounds after the Hammers got relegated. But Summerville is not Diomande. Diomande is the kind of player who can line up on the opposite flank from Amad and give defenses nightmares. Two young, electric wingers with pace and skill on both sides of the attack. That’s the kind of setup Michael Carrick has been trying to build.
None of this means United is close to a deal. They have not made an official offer yet. The money might not be there. But the fact that Diomande has not closed the door on them says something. Leipzig reportedly wants a loan-back as part of any sale, which complicates things further. Do buyers want to pay 100 million euros and not have the player for a year?
For now, the race is open. Four clubs think they have a shot. That usually means nobody actually has a clear lead. Which is better than United’s position a few weeks ago, when they seemed completely out of it.
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