Why Liverpool are trying to sign “the next Mbappe” after missing out on Diomande

It appears Yan Diomande and his representatives have played – for fools this summer, using FSG’s concerted approach as leverage to secure a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

It’s a tough one to take. The Ivory Coast winger, 19 years old, has emerged as one of the hottest prospects in the world, dazzling all year for RB Leipzig and now charging his nation’s World Cup campaign, a demon throughout the group stage and now into the last 32, where Norway await.

In truth, though, Liverpool would have had to have shelled out a nine-digit transfer fee for a teenager coming off the back of their breakout season on the big stage.

FSG anticipated frustration in their pursuit, and they have now activated their back-up plan.

Liverpool ready to open talks for Diomande alternative

It is time for Plan B at Anfield. With Andoni Iraola in charge and looking to guide Liverpool back into the limelight after a testing year under Arne Slot, it’s crucial that he is stocked with the right signings.

After all, Mohamed Salah has left on a free transfer, taking all those goals with him. Diomande was the perfect replacement, but it wasn’t to be.

However, reporter Ben Jacobs has detailed a plan of action stemming from the FSG boardroom, with Said El Mala and Matias Fernandez-Pardo among the options on technical director Richard Hughes’ list.

But according to reports on the continent, Liverpool are now ready to make an approach for PSG’s Bradley Barcola, who may leave this summer.

Diomande and Maghnes Akliouche are set to sign for PSG, opening the door for Liverpool to pounce on a dynamic winger who has been among their top targets for some time now.

How much Liverpool would have to stump up for Barcola is open to debate. Figures range from £60-87m, with the player heading into the penultimate year of his contract in Paris.

Arsenal also have a vested interest in the fleet-footed forward, who, aged 23, is now searching for new employers who can offer him a more prominent role.

Why Barcola can be the perfect Diomande alternative at Liverpool

Barcola prefers the left flank to the right, but he can play all across the frontline, and in that, could almost form a sort of Antoine Semenyo-esque role for Iraola at Liverpool.

However, his direct and dangerous approach could actually see him emerge as Liverpool’s new version of Hugo Ekitike, who finished as Slot’s top scorer in all competitions last year with 17 goals, despite rupturing his Achilles heel midway through April.

They are not matching profiles, but Ekitike and Barcola are both as athletic as they come, offering pace and skill down the wing or in the central danger area that most other forwards can’t replicate. To rubberstamp that claim, in light of another Frenchman’s departure from Paris, journalist Robin Bairner described Barcola as the “next [Kylian] Mbappe”.

They are also somewhat profligate, needing to work on their finishing, but as we saw with Liverpool’s French striker last season, that hardly means that he hasn’t been a success.

Barcola, after all, is “one of the best left wingers in the world“, according to analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson. With the explosiveness of a panther, he doesn’t dribble with the unrelenting intensity of someone like Diomande, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t an equally dangerous ball carrier when he gets going. Think of him as a Luis Diaz-esque progressor, rather than someone like Rio Ngumoha.

Whether he would play with consistency on Liverpool’s right wing remains to be seen, and while he is more naturally disposed toward left-sided play, the readings do show that the right-footer is more creative, and less direct, when on the right, which could actually work to Liverpool’s favour as he services the likes of Ekitike and Alexander Isak at number nine.

Barcola is one of the best in the business, still improving, and while the fact that PSG are signing Diomande is frustrating, FSG could pull off a blinder by raiding Luis Enrique’s side for Barcola, a world-class attacker.