Yan Diomande is staying at RB Leipzig despite strong interest from Liverpool, and it is a real blow to FSG’s transfer plans.
As part of the effort to replace Mohamed Salah, the 19-year-old has been identified as a possible successor. His ability to play on both sides is just one of the appeals, especially with the Reds needing more flexibility and explosiveness in the final third.
But Dominik Szoboszlai has now explained another reason Diomande would have made so much sense. It says a lot about what Liverpool are missing under Arne Slot.
Should Arne Slot drop Mohamed Salah from the squad to face Brentford? 👀
A sour end could be in store…
Dominik Szoboszlai admission shows why Yan Diomande would have been perfect for Liverpool
Diomande has committed his future to RB Leipzig, leaving Liverpool to look elsewhere for a potential Salah replacement.
That is frustrating enough from an attacking point of view. But Szoboszlai’s recent comments make the setback feel even more significant.
Sky Sports followed Szoboszlai around the AXA Training Centre for a Day In The Life feature, with Jamie Redknapp speaking to him about their shared experience of having a father as a coach.
Szoboszlai explained that his absurd striking technique came from his dad. But when it comes to his work-rate, pressing and running power, he pointed somewhere else entirely.
He said: “This winning the ball back and running and pressing and this mentality, I learned it in Salzburg and Leipzig.”
Szoboszlai came through two Red Bull clubs before joining Liverpool, and he now looks like the most Klopp-like player in the current squad in terms of sheer intensity. He covers every blade of grass, drives the press almost on his own at times, and plays with the kind of aggression Liverpool once had across the pitch.
Diomande comes from that same mould. He ranks in the top five per cent of Bundesliga wingers for recoveries with 148 and balls won in the final third with 27.
That goes alongside some frankly ridiculous playmaking numbers and clinical finishing for RB Leipzig.
He may still be unproven at the very highest level, but that Red Bull schooling would have given him a real chance of hitting the ground running at Anfield.
Maybe next summer.
The wider Liverpool issue with Szoboszlai’s statement
In the days of Jurgen Klopp, running was a non-negotiable. Players such as James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum simply did not stop chasing the ball. That mentality became the foundation of Liverpool’s success.
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It is now sorely lacking from the squad, which is pretty much what Mohamed Salah’s incendiary statement on Slot appeared to be about.
The worrying part is that Szoboszlai did not learn that mindset at Liverpool. He learned it in the Red Bull football group, which Klopp now oversees.
That Liverpool have to look at bringing that edge back through someone like Diomande, rather than it being the standard inside the squad, is a damning sign of how far the club’s identity has slipped.
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