Liverpool's Summer Rebuild: Diomande and Trincao Targets

Liverpool’s summer rebuild out wide is gathering pace – and it now has a distinctly Iberian flavour.

With Mohamed Salah heading for the exit on a free next year and uncertainty swirling around both Federico Chiesa and Cody Gakpo, Anfield’s recruitment team are preparing for a radical reshaping of the flanks. One marquee winger is not going to be enough.

All roads currently point to a double move: Yan Diomande and Francisco Trincao.

Diomande the headline act – but not the only one

Liverpool’s primary target remains Yan Diomande. The 19-year-old RB Leipzig winger has been pushed to the top of the list, even as his price climbs into eye-watering territory.

The Athletic report that Leipzig now value the Ivorian at more than €130m (£112m). It is the sort of number that normally cools interest. Liverpool have not walked away.

David Ornstein has detailed how Liverpool are in a strong position on the player side of the deal, better placed than PSG to agree personal terms, and that talks between the clubs have already begun. The message is clear: Diomande is the big swing.

There is another layer to this. Gakpo, whose future has been left deliberately open, is being discussed as a potential makeweight in negotiations with Leipzig, according to TEAMtalk. Fabrizio Romano has already stated Liverpool will listen to “important proposals” for the Dutchman, and reports of Tottenham being willing to smash their transfer record for him underline how fluid the forward line could become.

Chiesa’s situation adds further volatility. The Italian has publicly stated he needs to leave for the good of his career unless new head coach Andoni Iraola can guarantee him a bigger role. If Chiesa joins Salah and possibly Gakpo in heading for the door, Liverpool’s need for multiple wide recruits becomes unavoidable.

That is where Trincao enters the frame.

Trincao: from nearly man to prime target

Francisco Trincao’s career once looked like it might drift into the “what if” category. A big move to Barcelona, a muted loan spell at Wolves in 2021/22, flashes of talent but not much end product.

Back in Portugal, he has rewritten the script.

Since joining Sporting CP permanently in 2023, after an initial loan, the 26-year-old has rebuilt both his numbers and his reputation. Last season he delivered 13 goals and 18 assists in all competitions – 31 direct goal contributions from a wide forward who thrives cutting in from the right onto his left foot.

Those performances earned him a place in the Primeira Liga Team of the Season for the second year running. That consistency has not gone unnoticed on Merseyside.

Portuguese outlet Record now claim Liverpool are the “closest” club to signing Trincao this summer, with the intention of triggering his €60m (£52m) release clause. The same report states Liverpool sit “top of the list” of likely suitors, and that the arrival of Iraola has done nothing to cool the club’s interest.

That detail matters. A change in manager often resets transfer priorities. In this case, the Trincao pursuit has survived the transition, which suggests this is not a passing fancy but a profile the club have tracked and agreed on at multiple levels.

A new-look Liverpool front line taking shape

The picture is starting to form. Diomande as the blockbuster, the teenager with a nine-figure price tag and the potential to become Liverpool’s next long-term wide talisman. Trincao as the ready-made, peak-age option, already delivering elite output in Europe and available at a fixed, if substantial, fee.

Around them, the dominoes are lined up. Salah set to leave on a free. Chiesa pushing for clarity or a move. Gakpo on the market if the right bid lands or if he becomes the key to unlocking Diomande.

Liverpool cannot afford to get this window wrong. The club that once built an era on the devastating width of Salah and Sadio Mane is now trying to construct its next great forward line in one summer.

If they land both Diomande and Trincao, Anfield’s wings will look very different – younger in one channel, more refined and battle-hardened in the other. The question is not whether Liverpool are serious. It is how far they are prepared to go to make this double deal define the next phase of their attack.