Liverpool failed to sign Diomande: €100 million offer rejected

Liverpool have faced a rebuff in their first bid for Yan Diomande. According to several sources, the reigning English champions have placed a bid of up to €100 million for the RB Leipzig striker. Richard Hughes was willing to pay €90 million for the 19-year-old, adding another €10 million in bonuses. However, this offer was rejected by the energy giant, despite the fact that the player's valuation had previously hovered around the €100 million mark.

It is now clear that Leipzig are determined to negotiate tough for the Ivorian striker, and for good reason. The Bundesliga signed Diomande until 2030 when he arrived from Leganes last summer, giving them full control over his future. The Red Bulls are willing to consider extending Diomande's contract, but also want to increase his price.


According to a report from TEAMtalk, a deal for Diomande would require a record amount for the Bundesliga. Literally, Borussia Dortmund sold Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona in 2017 for €148 million in post-Neymar terms. Leipzig plans to rely on the Ballon d'Or winner's previous valuation when setting the price for Diomande.

"If Diomande were to leave the club this summer, it could require a sum close to the Bundesliga transfer record," the report says. This means Richard Hughes will once again have to set the British transfer record, having already done so twice last summer. Liverpool signed Florian Wirtz for as much as £116m from Bayer Leverkusen and later signed Alexandre Issac for £126m in the transfer window. A £128m deal for Diomande would top both of those sums. “Any such deal would be a record for the Reds who spent on Wirtz last summer and could also potentially beat the amount spent on Issac,” the report adds. It remains to be seen how events will develop, since there are several interested parties involved in the deal.