22 scorers in 33 games
©IMAGO
Yan Diomande impressed again in the 3-1 win against Union Berlin from RB Leipzig. The 19-year-old Ivorian initiated numerous attacks with his dribbling and prepared Ridle Baku’s third goal. Diomande is in the sights of all top European clubs and could take the next step in the summer. However, chairman of the supervisory board Oliver Mintzlaff wants to keep him at all costs.
“I’m on the supervisory board and not the sports director. But I can say: If I were the sports director, I wouldn’t sell this young player who hasn’t even been with us for a full season, no matter what the price is,” said the 50-year-old after the game on “Sky”. “I believe that he is a player who is still developing anyway, because he is of course still very young and can certainly become even more expensive.” The most expensive RB departure to date was Josko Gvardiol, who moved to Manchester City in 2023 for 90 million euros.
Diomande is the whiz kid this Bundesliga season. Leipzig paid 20 million euros to Spanish second division club CD Leganés for the services of the winger, who had previously only played 10 games for the Spaniards. In 33 appearances for the Saxons, Diomande was involved in 22 goals and has developed into an absolute top performer. His market value increased from 1.5 million to 75 million euros this season – no professional in the world has achieved this jump. In the TM rumor mill he is linked to FC Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and FC Bayern, among others. In the Bundesliga, only Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala have a higher market value.
Marcel Schäfer, managing director of sports at RB Leipzig, said after the game: “Such a development, many factors certainly play a role. We discussed a clear profile for ourselves as to what we wanted to sign. Yan fit in 100 percent. You can see that he has an absolute RB profile because he not only has an incredible number of good actions with the ball, creates chances, finishes the goal himself and scores a lot of goals and is of course a key player for us, but because he is also incredibly hard for them in defense The team works. That’s what makes it so special.”
