Andoni Iraola already proved he’s the ideal Liverpool coach for Yan Diomande way back in 2020
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Liverpool supporters have plenty of reasons to be excited for the new season, especially if they can pull off a big deal to sign Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig.The Reds are expected to return with a second offer for the Ivorian in the coming weeks, and though the fee is going to be huge, Diomande could be a difference-maker at Anfield.One of his development coaches at former club Leganes, Faissal Chehade, certainly thinks so, citing Andoni Iraola‘s success with a very young team at Mirandes in 2019/20 as a reason for Liverpool and Diomande being a perfect fit. How impressive has Yan Diomande been at the 2026 World Cup?!
Credit: MAURICE VAN STEEN/ANP/Getty Images Iraola has shown he can be successful with young playersOne of the best bits about Iraola’s first interview as Liverpool head coach was his apparent willingness to take a look at and work closely with the club’s young talents.According to Chehade, this is something the 44-year-old has already done during his days as a beginner coach in the Spanish second division, leading Mirandes to a Copa del Rey semi-final with the youngest team in the top two leagues.“I’ve seen Iraola’s team, in 2019-2020, he coached a club called Mirandes in the second division in Spain,” the coach told Give Me Sport.“In that club it’s mainly young players, it’s a very, very, very young team, an average of 20 or 22 I think, and he managed to take that team to the semi-finals in the Spanish cup.”Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty ImagesREAD MORE: Liverpool may lose out on both Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola as PSG finally drop transfer clue“Being a second division club, being the youngest team I think among the first and second division, and managing a young group of players, I think Iraola has the capability of getting the most out of young players. “So, I think Liverpool will be a perfect fit [for Diomande], but he needs to be the main man.”Asked to predict how high the 19-year-old’s ceiling is, Chehade also made a big claim, explaining that Diomande’s potential is so big, he could end up as a Ballon d’Or winner.“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Yan gets to the top three players in the world and is a candidate for the Ballon d’Or,” he said.Under Iraola’s guidance at Liverpool is where he will seemingly have the best chance of achieving that lofty ambition.
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