Liverpool and Tottenham Eye Andreas Schjelderup Amid Diomande Saga
Liverpool and Tottenham are circling one of Norway’s brightest talents, with Andreas Schjelderup emerging as the latest winger on the radar of two of England’s heavyweights, even as Liverpool’s pursuit of Yan Diomande hits an expensive stand-off.
Liverpool rebuild the flanks
Liverpool have already made a statement down the left. Victor Munoz is in, prised away from Newcastle United in a €40million (£34.5m) deal, and immediately tasked with pushing Cody Gakpo for minutes on that side of the front line.
They need more. Mohamed Salah has gone on a free, leaving a gaping hole in both output and aura. Gakpo, meanwhile, may be dragged inside to help carry the load at centre-forward while Alexander Isak waits for Hugo Ekitike to return from his Achilles injury. The wide areas, once Liverpool’s great strength, suddenly look thin.
That is why Anfield’s recruitment team are driving hard at Diomande of RB Leipzig, and at the same time quietly running the rule over Schjelderup.
Schjelderup draws a crowd
Reports in Italy from Tuttomercatoweb say Liverpool and Tottenham are both “following” Schjelderup, with Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Como also in the queue. The 22-year-old has just come off a breakthrough year with Benfica and carried that form onto the biggest stage.
He featured in Norway’s first two World Cup group games, an endorsement of his rise after a season that yielded 10 goals and seven assists in 43 appearances. Under Jose Mourinho, Benfica went unbeaten in the Primeira Liga, a remarkable feat that still somehow did not end with the trophy in their hands. Schjelderup was one of the faces of that charge.
Benfica originally paid €14m to bring him in. That figure already looks like a bargain. Early suggestions put his current value at around €30m (£26m), more than double the initial outlay. Yet in Portugal, Record have been blunt: Benfica will only sit down at the table for offers of €40m or more.
Record also report that Spurs have “burst into the race”, stepping up their interest amid Liverpool’s long-standing admiration. TMW’s reporting backs that up. For both Premier League clubs, this is a chance to secure a young, World Cup-tested winger before his price climbs again.
Diomande chase hits a wall of cash
While Schjelderup’s situation simmers, the Diomande saga has swung wildly in the rumour mill.
On Thursday, talk surfaced that Liverpool had gone back to Leipzig with a second offer, raising their bid from an initial €100m (£86m) to a staggering €116m (£100m). It sounded like the kind of all-in move that defines a summer.
Sky Germany’s Philipp Hinze shut that down within hours. The upgraded bid, he said, is “not true”. There has been no second offer. Inside Anfield, the debate is still raging: do they go back in, and how high?
Figures of €116-120m (up to £104m) are being weighed up. A formal proposal at €120m would force Leipzig to think hard. It still might not be enough.
On June 19, it emerged that Leipzig are holding out for a Bundesliga-record €148m (£128m). They want Diomande to stay for at least one more year and are pricing him accordingly. For them, this is not just a sale; it is a battle to keep their star wide man at the heart of their project.
Two targets, one clear preference
Inside Liverpool’s hierarchy, the preference is clear. Even with his towering valuation, Diomande is the priority over Schjelderup.
The reasoning is simple. Schjelderup operates mainly from the left, where Munoz has already strengthened the options and Gakpo can still feature. It would be a smart signing, but not a transformative one.
Diomande is different. He can damage teams from either flank, equally comfortable and equally dangerous on the right or the left. In a squad reshaping its attack after Salah, that kind of versatility is gold.
So Liverpool stand at a crossroads: stretch their finances to the edge for a player they believe can redefine their front line, or pivot to a cheaper, rising talent already lighting up Europe and the World Cup. Tottenham, watching the Schjelderup situation closely, will be ready to pounce if Liverpool’s gaze stays locked on Leipzig.
The market is moving. The question now is which club blinks first, and how much they are truly prepared to pay for the future of their wings.
