Liverpool have been warned that none of their reported alternatives will match up to Yan Diomande if they cannot sign the Ivorian this summer.
The Reds are prepared to make a second offer for Diomande after seeing a €100m bid rejected by RB Leipzig, but have a list of back-up options on their shortlist as well.
Reports have claimed that Liverpool could target Koln’s Said El Mala as a possible alternative, while Hoffenheim wide man Bazoumana Toure has previously been reliably linked as well.
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But according to Bundesliga commentator Kevin Hatchard, neither of these two players, nor Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo would be a patch on Diomande. Pushed to pick a plan B, though, Hatchard says Toure should be the one in Liverpool‘s sights.
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Having previously rejected a potential move to Brentford this summer, it is likely that Liverpool could sign El Mala for around €50m in the coming months.
However, speaking to The Redmen TV, Hatchard said that the steep drop in price from Diomande to the German is indicative of a big gulf in quality, despite El Mala outscoring the Leipzig man last season.
“El Mala for me is really raw. I’ve still got question marks about him,” said the commentator, who has watched the 19-year-old closely.
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“I think there’s a good player in there, don’t get me wrong, and he’s quick and direct, and he’s scored goals as a teenager in the Bundesliga, so not a bad player. But for me he feels like a guy to go to a Brighton, a Brentford, a Bournemouth, a kind of progressive mid-ranking team to get more minutes in the Premier League and then make the move.
“I always say about him, he’s built like a boxer but he moves like a sprinter. He is really interesting physically, but I’m not totally convinced about him yet.”
Bazoumana Toure could be the one to go for
Having also dismissed the wisdom of a move to sign Fernandez-Pardo, Hatchard was more upbeat about the prospect of Toure joining Liverpool, but still declared his belief that the 20-year-old is not close to the level of Diomande.
“Bazoumana Toure I really like, but again he’s nowhere near the overall package that Diomande is,” he said.
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“He’s mega quick, like ridiculously quick, direct, but has a lot of rough edges to his game that would need smoothing off.
“So, I wouldn’t put any of those three [El Mala, Fernandez-Pardo or Toure] anywhere near the bracket I’d put Diomande in.
“Toure I really like, he’s so quick and he’s a good kid as well, you listen to the Hoffenheim players when they talk about him and they really love him,” Hatchard adds. “Good character, has done really well.
“It’s just he doesn’t score enough for me, so that’s got to come, his finishing could be better and his decision-making at times is a little bit ropey. But there’s definitely something there. Of the three of them I’d be most excited about him.”
Though Liverpool fans have some reservations about Diomande and his price-tag after watching him at the World Cup this weekend, the reason the Reds are happy to bet so big on him is that there isn’t exactly a whole raft of top alternatives to move nicely onto.
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