Liverpool's Summer Rebuild: Diomande and Eichhorn as Key Targets
Liverpool waste no time. Andoni Iraola is barely through the door and the club have already hit fast-forward on a summer rebuild that could reshape the next phase at Anfield.
The Spaniard was confirmed on a two-year deal on Thursday evening as Arne Slot’s successor. By then, work behind the scenes had already begun. It has to. Liverpool have just finished fifth in the Premier League and have watched Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konaté walk away for nothing. That is not a gentle reset. That is a jolt.
So the recruitment department has moved into overdrive.
Diomande: The Salah Succession Plan
The most urgent question hangs over the right flank. Life after Salah was always going to be complicated; now it is here. Liverpool’s answer, at least in their ideal scenario, appears to be Yan Diomande.
David Ornstein has confirmed that Liverpool are in contact with RB Leipzig over the teenage winger, who has just delivered a breakout season in the Bundesliga. Leipzig do not want to sell. They are ready to dig in and, if they are forced to the table, point to a price in the region of £112m for the Ivory Coast international.
That figure underlines how quickly Diomande’s stock has risen. Nineteen years old, one full senior season, and already being spoken of in the bracket of the game’s most valuable young forwards. Thirteen goals, ten assists, and the kind of fearless, direct wing play that pulls scouts back to stadiums week after week.
Paris Saint-Germain are circling. Yet Liverpool are understood to be ahead in the race, helped by the strength of their pitch and the clarity of their need. The Merseyside club can offer a defined role, a huge stage and the opportunity to grow into the space Salah has vacated.
From a player’s perspective, the fit is obvious. A high-tempo, front-foot system under Iraola. A club that has long trusted young attackers and given them responsibility early. Liverpool know they cannot replace Salah like-for-like, but they are trying to secure a successor who can carry that right side for the next decade.
And they are not stopping at one marquee chase.
Eichhorn: The 16-Year-Old Commanding Europe’s Attention
While Diomande would arrive as an immediate weapon, Kennet Eichhorn represents a different kind of play: long-term, strategic, and potentially spectacular.
Hertha Berlin’s 16-year-old midfielder has become one of the most coveted teenagers in Europe, and Liverpool have stepped up their pursuit. Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg reported on Thursday that the club held fresh talks within the last 48 hours as they push hard to bring him to Anfield.
Hertha’s failure to secure promotion back to the Bundesliga has opened the door. The club know they face a fight to keep hold of their brightest asset. Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund are in the frame. So are Liverpool, who have made no secret of their desire to be at the front of the queue.
At this stage of the summer, Eichhorn is said to be open to all options. That gives the Premier League side a window to sell him on their project, their pathway and the chance to grow under a coach renowned for intensity and structure.
The numbers around him are startling. A Germany Under-17 international who does not turn 17 until next month, Eichhorn has already made 19 senior appearances for Hertha. Not friendly run-outs. Competitive matches. Had it not been for an ankle injury and a red-card suspension late in the season, that tally would almost certainly be higher.
Tall, composed and technically assured, he has been promoted to Hertha’s first team and has looked like he belongs there. Those close to the club talk about a teenager playing with the calm of a veteran, dictating tempo rather than simply surviving at senior level.
The scouting list tells its own story. Liverpool, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona – all have had eyes on him. Hertha captain Fabian Reese has called him “an incredible, exceptional talent”, and in Germany he has already drawn comparisons with Toni Kroos. That is a heavy name to carry, but it explains why Europe’s elite are suddenly paying attention to every decision he makes.
For Liverpool, the appeal is obvious. Diomande might be the headline act, the big fee, the Salah heir apparent. Eichhorn could be the quieter coup: a midfielder shaped over time into the heartbeat of a new-look side.
The club cannot afford another stagnant summer after slipping to fifth and losing three pillars of the dressing room on free transfers. Under Iraola, the rebuild has to be bold, decisive and smart. The question now is simple: can Liverpool turn admiration into signatures before the rest of Europe closes in?
