Liverpool Pursue Yan Diomande as Salah's Successor

Liverpool refuse to loosen their grip on Yan Diomande.

Behind the scenes at Anfield, the 19-year-old RB Leipzig winger has become the chosen heir to Mohamed Salah, the man identified to step into the void left when the Egyptian finally walked away in 2026 after nine goal-drenched seasons. The fee, the resistance, the noise from Germany – none of it has yet shaken Liverpool’s belief that this is the deal.

They have already seen one monster offer swatted away. Leipzig turned down an opening package worth €100m (£87m, $116m), a bid that would make most clubs blink. Leipzig didn’t. They sent it back without even naming a price.

The message from Saxony is blunt: Diomande is not on the market, not on their terms anyway.

Inside the club, as Sky Germany’s Philipp Hinze outlined, Leipzig want at least one more season out of him. No release clause. A rising market value. Just 19 years old. A long contract. They know exactly what they’re holding and are prepared to squeeze every last drop of leverage from it.

“Only an offer significantly above €100m could persuade Leipzig to change their stance,” Hinze reported. Not untouchable, then – just extraordinarily expensive.

Liverpool, though, are not walking away. Far from it.

Liverpool turn to the player

While the first bid made headlines, the real work has been happening out of sight. As Fabrizio Romano revealed on the Blood N Red podcast, Liverpool have been relentless on what he calls the “player side” of the deal.

It’s not just about numbers on an email to Leipzig. It’s about winning Diomande himself.

Romano insists Liverpool have been doing “excellent work” to secure Diomande’s approval, pushing to the point where the teenager is ready to tell Leipzig, in no uncertain terms, that he wants Anfield.

That push has been going on for months. As far back as December, club officials were in near-daily contact with the winger’s entourage, laying the groundwork for a summer move and making it clear he would be the centrepiece of the post-Salah era.

Liverpool believe that if Diomande makes his stance clear, the dynamic shifts. Leipzig can still ask for more than €100m, but they would be doing so with a player openly leaning towards Merseyside.

Romano is convinced Liverpool will return to the table. A second, heavier offer is expected this week, and this time it will come with even more weight behind it: a huge contract proposal for the player and an even bigger fee for Leipzig.

“Liverpool will be very aggressive. Liverpool will bid more than €100m,” Romano said, underlining just how far the club are prepared to go.

Leipzig dig in – and pay up

Leipzig’s response has been to double down on their own plan.

Talks are already underway with Diomande’s representatives over a pay rise and a reworked contract. The German club’s strategy is clear: reward him now, keep him happy, give him Champions League football next season, and then reassess the market when his value could be even higher.

They see holding Diomande as a “smart decision” – a calculated gamble that the cost of turning down huge money this summer will be repaid by an even bigger jackpot later.

For now, there has been no second Liverpool offer lodged and no formal bid from PSG either, according to Hinze. But the situation remains fluid. PSG, once considered serious contenders, have backed away for the moment, put off by the spiralling fee and leaving Liverpool as the only major suitor actively pushing.

That isolation should favour Liverpool. It hasn’t yet.

Leipzig know they are under no immediate pressure to sell. They also know that Liverpool, having identified Diomande as their top target, are the club most likely to smash through the €100m barrier.

Plan A, Plan B – and a looming exit

Liverpool are not naïve enough to chase one name blindly.

While Diomande remains the priority, the club have kept alternative options warm, with PSG’s Bradley Barcola among those being closely monitored. Romano has spoken of Liverpool’s “love” for Barcola, another young, high-ceiling wide forward who fits the profile of a long-term attacking pillar.

That interest is not a bluff. It is the safety net if Leipzig refuse to budge or drive Diomande’s price into a territory even Liverpool deem excessive.

Either way, something has to give in Liverpool’s forward line.

If Diomande arrives, or if Barcola becomes the one, a high-profile exit is expected. Tottenham Hotspur are already positioning themselves, readying a big-money five-year offer for a Liverpool attacker as they look to seize on the reshuffle.

So the stakes are clear. Liverpool are on the verge of a defining decision in their post-Salah rebuild: go all-in to shatter the Bundesliga transfer record for a 19-year-old, or pivot sharply and trust an alternative.

Leipzig have drawn their line. Now the question is whether Liverpool are prepared to cross it.