Liverpool explore move to sign £60m Diomande upgrade

Liverpool will not be represented by England at the 2026 World Cup in North America, but Rio Ngumoha will travel with the Three Lions to Florida, joining their pre-tournament training camp.

What an honour. What confirmation of Ngumoha’s quality. Of course, Reds fans already know this, with the 17-year-old dazzling for Arne Slot‘s struggling side this season, a flash of brilliant red colour against a backdrop of murky grey.

With Mohamed Salah at the end of his glittering Liverpool journey, it’s a good thing that Ngumoha is emerging, exciting fans but also offering a directness that will reward their support with goals and assists.

However, he can’t do it alone, with FSG already starting work on landing a potential successor this summer.

FSG begin work on Salah replacement at Liverpool

Salah is irreplaceable, but FSG are going to have to give it their best shot. At the top of the summer shopping list is RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande, who is valued at £87m after a simply sensational season in the Bundesliga.

However, Liverpool need to make sweeping summer changes, and signing such a high-cost winger might be unrealistic, especially when considering he has only just broken onto the major stage.

Instead, sporting director Richard Hughes could be a touch more pragmatic and move for West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen.

That’s according to journalist Jacob Steinberg, who has confirmed that Liverpool and Manchester United are both exploring a deal for the right-sided forward.

The Hammers will fight tooth and nail to keep onto their talisman, but if they are relegated from the Premier League, their hopes of retaining him will diminish.

Even so, Liverpool could be forced to stump up as much as £60m.

Why Bowen could be better than Diomande

Bowen is 29 and headed for the Championship, so why should Liverpool push for his signature over Diomande? The Ivory Coast star is, after all, considered to be a “generational talent” by the likes of journalist Bence Bocsak.

But Bowen has hardly been poor under Nuno Espirito Santo’s wing this season. If anything, he has been his side’s principal source of inspiration in attack, notching 18 top-flight goal involvements.

The struggles of Florian Wirtz at Liverpool this season make a comment on how translation from the Bundesliga to the English top flight can often be a tough experience.

Of course, Bowen is already integrated into the Premier League, standing out for a West Ham side who are on the verge of relegation.

Moreover, he could be a perfect stylistic fit for Slot’s system, dovetailing in as Liverpool’s new Salah on the right flank. After all, analyst Raj Chohan has described him as being “similar to Salah” in the way he cuts inside and shoots, also maintaining excellent creative output.

The England international, snubbed by Thomas Tuchel, could be a sort of Salah lite next season, and maybe that’s okay. He would help the transition away, whereas hurling the 19-year-old Diomande into that deep end could prove a gamble, especially when considering the weight of the task on his shoulders.

Diomande would hardly be a bad signing, but with Ngumoha still developing and Liverpool expressing an interest in Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola, some financial concessions will need to be made, and Bowen could still prove the perfect pick at this point in time.

Bowen might not be the perfect long-term Salah heir, but he could be a shrewder signing than Diomande at this stage. Liverpool need someone to make an instant impact. Slot cannot afford a slow start.

In Bowen, the Reds could land the perfect man for the job, steadying the ship before later charting a course for a more expensive long-term replacement such as Diomande.