There is an anxious wait to see if Liverpool’s win over Inter Milan at the San Siro is a turning of a page or a stay of execution ahead of more poor results, dismal displays.

Arne Slot would be the first to admit that things haven’t gone to plan for the Premier League champions this summer, who find themselves 10th in the top-flight standings after a record-breaking summer of spending. Slot is also a glass-half-full kind of guy, and he sees a route out of this rut.

Circumstances apply for the Anfield side, but there’s no denying many stars have been miles off it, and while much has been made of Liverpool’s defensive disasters, the uncertain future of Mohamed Salah has heaped pressure on FSG and Richard Hughes as the sporting director searches for fresh firepower.

Why Liverpool could sign a new forward

Who knows if Salah will still be a Liverpool player in February? Regardless, the Egyptian hasn’t been good enough this season, and, aged 33, questions are being raised as to whether he has gone past the apotheosis of his glittering Premier League career.

Salah’s decline has seemingly hampered his fellow attackers. It’s only natural; ther 33-year-old has held Liverpool’s success on his back for so many years. Cody Gakpo, for example, has struggled for form too, arguably offering less than the Egyptian while reprising his starting berth

More pace and potency is surely needed, and that’s why FSG are weighing up a move for RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, with Spanish sources claiming Liverpool have raised their interest and are ready to sign the Ivorian teenager to cover Salah’s mid-season sale, should that come to pass.

Diomande might only be 19 years old, but he’s already confirmed his elite status, with Leipzig set to demand payment in the range of €100m (about £88m) to let him leave.

Arsenal and Manchester City are also known suitors.

What Yan Diomande would bring to Liverpool

Diomande is fast. Very fast. However, he’s anything but a one-trick pony, quickly establishing himself as a potent threat in the final third and a tenacious defender when against the ball.

Journalist Bence Bocsak has actually hailed him as a “generational talent”, comparing the youngster to Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland, who was several grades above when cutting his own teeth for the Red Bull group.

Diomande might actually be a better player than Gakpo even now, even before adding the building blocks to his natural foundation. The 19-year-old doesn’t match Gakpo’s rate of output, not yet, but the underlying data is certainly kind to Diomande’s completeness.

And anyway, Diomande has demonstrated startling growth in a short time, having scored seven goals and supplied four assists for his Bundesliga club this season, joining them from Leganes in the summer.

Gakpo, moreover, has only completed 39% of his 1.3 dribbles per Premier League game this term, whereas Diomande is proving himself to be a highly efficient ball carrier, completing 63% of his dribbles, averaging 2.3 per game (data via Sofascore).

This is an up-and-coming talent who is quickly becoming the talk of the town. Liverpool must ensure they add him to their ranks, adding depth and dynamism to their flanks and a far more dynamic threat than someone like Gakpo.

If Liverpool are currently bracing themselves for Salah’s shock departure, such a profile will be needed.

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By
Angus Sinclair

1 day ago