Liverpool have made Yan Diomande their priority target this summer, identifying the 19-year-old as the main signing they want from RB Leipzig. Diomande is currently starring for C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire at the World Cup after an astonishing debut season in Germany. The club face a transfer battle: Liverpool would need to spend around $150 million and fend off interest from Paris Saint-Germain. Their opening $115 million bid has already been rejected.<\/p>\n
Given that picture, the Reds must prepare credible alternatives in case Diomande opts for PSG or a deal with Leipzig cannot be agreed. None of the other options replicate the exact profile of Diomande, but each offers a different route to bolster Liverpool\u2019s forward options.<\/p>\n
Bradley Barcola would be the headline alternative. The 23-year-old is at PSG and is currently representing France at the World Cup. With Diomande in the mix, Barcola could drop from fourth-choice to fifth-choice at Paris, which may force him to seek guaranteed minutes elsewhere. PSG appear hesitant to sell, but that stance could change if they recruit new forwards. Barcola recorded fifty goal involvements across the last two seasons, would probably command a fee similar to Diomande, and has the explosive speed, balletic agility and elite-level experience that make him a high-upside signing. Arsenal are also reported to be among potential suitors.<\/p>\n
Said El Mala is a less familiar name to England but earned a breakout season with K\u00f6ln in 2025\u201326, playing 36 matches and scoring 13 goals. The 19-year-old missed out on Julian Nagelsmann\u2019s Germany squad for the World Cup but has attracted concrete interest, including a $57 million offer from Brentford that he declined. The chance to join Iraola\u2019s project and play in the Premier League and Champions League could tempt him.<\/p>\n
Yankuba Minteh and Matias Fernandez-Pardo round out the list. Minteh, 21, already has two Premier League seasons and 17 goal involvements, and famously troubled Liverpool during Brighton\u2019s 2\u20131 win in March with his pace and a decisive cross. Fernandez-Pardo, 21, followed a strong 2024\u201325 with eight goals and six assists in 2025\u201326, can play across the frontline and has appeared as a substitute for Belgium at the World Cup. Each represents a different balance of immediate contribution and long-term potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Liverpool want Yan Diomande, but if he slips away Barcola, El Mala, Minteh and Fernandez-Pardo. soon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15522,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175,969],"tags":[1615,673,1763],"class_list":["post-15523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liverpool","category-premier-league","tag-andoni-iraola","tag-bradley-barcola","tag-yankuba-minteh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}