Liverpool have had an £86million bid for Yan Diomande rejected after a frantic day in which they made Osasuna winger Victor Munoz the first signing of the Andoni Iraola era.
It had been anticipated that Liverpool would back their new head coach in the transfer market and they made clear their intentions late on Wednesday when they hijacked Newcastle’s quest to land Munoz and swiftly concluded a £34.5 million deal to bring the Spain international to Anfield.
Munoz was given permission by the Spanish Football Federation to undergo a medical after Liverpool sent their own staff to the United States to complete the tests. Once the formalities of securing a work permit are concluded, the 22-year-old will commit to a contract that runs to June 2032.
Adding pace to their attack has been Liverpool’s priority all summer, which is why they were thrilled to sign Munoz, but they have now made an aggressive move to secure their prime objective Diomande, who is also wanted by PSG.
RB Leipzig have maintained that Diomande is not for sale but the reality is Liverpool and PSG are prepared to pay the kind of money that would ensure they do business. Liverpool’s first offer of £78.1m, with a further £8m in add-ons, has been rebuffed.
This is unlikely to deter them. Liverpool and RB Leipzig historically have a strong relationship and Liverpool will now consider their next move – the intention is clear, however, and that is to give Iraola all the tools he needs at the earliest opportunity to get the club moving forward again.
Liverpool were thwarted in their first attempt to sign Ivory Coast star Yan Diomande
The transfer of Munoz came out of leftfield, as Newcastle were convinced they were going to land the former Real Madrid youth player, who had also attracted interest from Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester United. They had made a bid of £29m, with a further £5m in add-ons.
They suspected something had gone wrong on Tuesday, however, when the entourage of Munoz – who had previously indicated he had wanted to go to the Northeast – stopped answering calls and Liverpool arrived late to get the matter concluded. Liverpool will pay the £34.5m fee in two chunks.
There are echoes of this transfer, given how swiftly it has been completed, with Liverpool’s move for Dominik Szoboszlai in 2023 when they again pounced late in the day for the Hungary midfielder after Newcastle had appeared to be making all the running.
Adding Munoz and potentially adding Diomande, who is also currently at the World Cup, is another clear example of how Liverpool are changing the profile of their squad in terms of its age, to build a team that can progress together.
Liverpool had already done one piece of business ahead of the summer window and that was concluding a deal in January to sign Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes, the France Under-21 international chose Anfield ahead of Chelsea when his £59.5million fee was agreed.
It is anticipated there will be more additions and Liverpool have contingency plans in place if they cannot strike a deal for Diomande and they are looking at other options, one being Bradley Barcola, of Paris St Germain.
Reports on Saturday suggested Liverpool’s priority had become adding a midfielder and they were immediately linked to Ayyoub Bouaddi following his outstanding performance against Brazil for Morocco.
As much as Liverpool have been tracking his progress – along with a number of other Premier League clubs, including Arsenal – there remains a possibility the 18-year-old, who plays for Lille, will end up signing for Real Madrid.
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