RB Leipzig's new attacker Yan Diomande has established himself early this season as one of the Big Five's finest dribblers. His talent is attracting interest from Europe's biggest clubs.
RB Leipzig have built a reputation for spotting smart transfer opportunities. The German side appear to have uncovered a gem last summer by signing Yan Diomande for €20 million from Leganés.
Relatively unknown having made just 10 appearances for the La Liga club, registering two goals and one assist, he has burst onto the scene at Leipzig this season. The 18-year-old winger, comfortable on either flank, has already become part of Ole Werner's regular rotation.
Diomande's dribbling eclipses Yamal and Mbappé
Yan Diomande has featured in 10 of Leipzig's 11 Bundesliga matches, starting six. With three goals and three assists, he's an electrifying winger whom full-backs dread facing one-on-one.
The Ivory Coast international (two caps) is a dribbling specialist. According to Fbref statistics, he ranks among the very best in this area across Europe's top five leagues. Since the season began, Diomande has attempted 37 dribbles and completed 25 – an impressive success rate of nearly 68%.
Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Jr complete more dribbles than Leipzig's gem but with greater wastefulness: 32/65 (49% success) for the Catalan, 28/59 (47.5%) for the Bondy native and 26/67 (39%) for the Brazilian. Consequently, the young Ivorian's profile is catching the eye of European heavyweights.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG tracking Diomande
According to TBR Football, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham are closely monitoring his progress and have already scouted at least one of his matches. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have all been alerted to this emerging talent's form.
However, for these exceptional early suitors, RB Leipzig show no willingness to release their new star anytime soon. “He's genuinely exceptional. I'm told Red Bull view him as their biggest prospect since Erling Haaland. Leipzig insist there's no release clause, and we're already hearing talk of an £88 million transfer (approximately €100m),” highlighted journalist Graeme Bailey. He added that Yan Diomande is currently the hottest property on the transfer market.
This article was originally published on Top Mercato.
