Liverpool made to regret missed Yan Diomande transfer chance one year ago

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Liverpool FC NewsTransfer NewsYan DiomandeLiverpool missed out on Yan Diomande twice in the past year, with the winger seemingly looking at other options instead of joining the Reds on both occasions.Real Madrid have reportedly agreed a deal to sign RB Leipzig star Yan Diomande.(Image: (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images))Yan Diomande and Liverpool is a story of a near-miss for the Reds, whether that will be a success or failure on its part remains to be seen.However, earlier this summer it was clear that the Merseyside outfit had made the Ivorian winger the top target to replace Mohamed Salah on the right flank before the saga got messy.PSG's involvement meant that Liverpool was not the preferred destination anymore, seemingly cutting the Premier League team out of the conversation.That is despite Andoni Iraola calling Diomande to sell the project to him and convince him that Anfield was the best place for him to be for the short-term and long-term future.In the time since, his switch to PSG has fallen through, with a protracted saga surrounding Real Madrid following until it was finally announced he would sign a seven-year deal with Los Blancos.It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will come to regret missing out on Diomande, or whether the club has dodged a potential problem in the frontline moving forward.For now, there may be a sense of regret, considering how highly he was thought of, and the fact that the interest in him had been there for longer than just this summer.The Athletic reports that Liverpool had interest in Diomande last year, along with PSG and several other Premier League clubs, when he was playing in Spain for Leganes.Instead of making a move, RB Leipzig pushed to quickly get a deal done and ensured it would be the one to benefit from the star over the past season, before bagging a huge transfer fee for him this summer.Yan Diomande of Ivory Coast during the 2026 World Cup match between Ivory Coast and Norway at Dallas Stadium on June 30, 2026, in Dallas, United States. (Photo by Stefan Koops/EYE4IMAGES/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Liverpool will wait and see how Diomande does in his time at Real Madrid, but there was always a risk associated with making a move either last summer or this summer.Last year was Diomande's first breakthrough campaign with Leganes, and there is no guarantee he would've been handed the development time required at Liverpool to become the player he is now.Equally, the sample size still remains small even with the year at Leipzig, with such a large transfer fee likely maximized from an impressive solo campaign and a decent showing at the World Cup.Liverpool's newest targets provide a mixture of certainty and promise.

In Bradley Barcola, there is a player that the Reds can get experience out of as well as the potential to grow further. Meanwhile Ibrahim Mbaye is much more skewed towards the future prospect side of the scale.It's been a tough summer for the Reds, summarized best by the saga surrounding Diomande.

But all of that will be forgotten if the next two arrivals can join and hit the ground running.Choose Liverpool.com as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Yan DiomandeLiverpool FC