Liverpool have been making calls to sign big-money star who’s Ekitike 2.0

One year ago, Liverpool were crowned Premier League champions, thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at Anfield to add Arne Slot‘s face to the shimmering red banner.

How things have changed over the past 12 months, with the Dutchman now under fire and facing an end-of-season review. The word on the street is that he will survive and work with Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes throughout the summer transfer window, signings made in line with Slot’s own vision.

Let’s hope last year’s hero recovers that faded image, now the arbiter of a truly staggering downfall that has seen clamour for a change any number of times.

When Slot and Mohamed Salah endured a public dispute after defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion in December, it looked like one would have to go. That’s turned out to be the club’s greatest forward in several generations, and now Slot and co need to secure a successor.

Romano: Liverpool “calling” for Salah replacement

Salah is irreplaceable, but all the same, Liverpool need to do their best this summer. Salah is leaving, and he’s taking all 257 of his goals with him.

Couple that with the Achilles injury sustained by Hugo Ekitike, as well as Alexander Isak’s struggles throughout the campaign, and it’s clear that Liverpool need to sign a new goalscorer, even after last summer’s splurge.

What Liverpool need is a new forward who can play a part in a title-challenging team over the next several years. That’s easier said than done, and while Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise is off the cards, FSG have set their sights on another Bundesliga talent.

According to Fabrizio Romano, who knows a thing or two about the transfer scene, Liverpool have been “calling” for RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, who has impressed this season in Germany.

Romano said in full: “PSG are interested. Bayern are interested and Liverpool also remain in for the player. Several clubs are calling for the player. Leipzig are discussing the possibility of keeping the player for one more season and including a release clause to keep him until 2027. Liverpool keep tracking the player. Liverpool scouts have been at Leipzig’s last two games to watch the player. Diomande, for sure, is going to be an interesting case to follow in this summer window.”

Unless the Ivorian signs a new deal, it’s highly likely Leipzig are going to double down on their hefty £87m valuation.

Why Diomande could be Liverpool’s new Ekitike

Diomande is only 19, and in all honesty, is basically a hatchling on the senior stage. Last season, he played for Leganes in Spain, though was peripheral until winning his manager’s trust across the closing months.

Having moved to Leipzig last year, he’s progressed at startling speed. You could say that he has mimicked Ekitike in that, with the France striker thriving – for the most part – since joining Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt for £79m last year.

Ekitike is unlikely to feature again before the end of the calendar year, and that is an agonising blow for the dynamic forward, but he’ll be back to combine with Diomande before long, with both far greater and more expansive than their role in Liverpool’s system might demand of them.

Not only flashy and furious when on the prowl, the winger is also willing to get stuck in defensively, and in that, he will make a big difference down Liverpool’s right side next year.

Analyst Raj Chohan has even predicted that the Ivorian “will play both wings” for the Anfield side, asserting that a deal is likely already edging toward completion.

In truth, he will be considered as Salah’s successor on the right, Diomande could harness an Ekitike-esque quality, arriving as a young forward from Germany and quickly emerging as one of Slot’s most trusted attacking lieutenants.

Described as a “generational talent” by journalist Bence Bocsák, Diomande is the real deal, and while he cannot be expected to perform with the sharpness of peak Salah, Diomande could emulate Ekitike in heading over from Germany and having an instant impact on Slot’s squad.

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