Three-packer is World Cup opponent
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RB Leipzig has another diamond in the rough. Tempo dribbler Yan Diomande scored a hat-trick in the 6-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt. At 19, he is the second youngest player in Bundesliga history to achieve this feat. Only Frankfurt’s Walter Bechtold was younger in 1965 at 18 years and 118 days.
The Ivorian, who is currently causing a sensation as a mask man after breaking his nose, remains down-to-earth. “Scoring three goals is a special moment for me as a professional. My three goals are team goals. I’m still very young, have a lot to learn, everyone is helping me,” said the 20 million euro new signing from CD Leganés and went from interview to interview wrapped in a winter jacket.
Clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool FC have been keeping an eye on the youngster for a long time. FC Barcelona is also said to be interested in the Ivorian, who has a contract in Leipzig until the summer of 2030 and could bring the Red Bulls a record fee if he moves at some point. The most expensive departure in the club’s history since 2023 has been defender Josko Gvardiol, who moved to Manchester City for 90 million euros. In the Bundesliga update on December 19th, Diomande is likely to be one of the big market value winners, as he was in October. What should its market value be afterwards? Join the discussion here!
Will RB Leipzig’s Diomande become a problem for the DFB team?
Diomande can single-handedly decide games with his dynamism. So he could also become a problem for Julian Nagelsmann and the German national team. Ivory Coast is the DFB team’s opponents in the World Cup group. Actually, there should have been a test match for both teams in Stuttgart on March 30th, but that has now fallen through. There are replacement options, said Nagelsmann. The clash will take place on the second World Cup matchday on June 20th in Toronto.
“Yesterday I wrote in our team group that I was happy and excited to play against him. Today in training we greeted each other and laughed because he also said he was looking forward to it. You never know exactly how Yan plays, but I love being on the same team with him,” said German national player and RB captain David Raum (27).
