Liverpool Plot Double Attacking Signings With Salah Return Dead

Liverpool are planning to sign two attacking players this summer, with RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande the primary target at a fee Leipzig sources have placed at over €130 million – a figure that makes this the most consequential piece of business new manager Andoni Iraola will attempt in his first window at Anfield.

That comes directly from James Pearce at The Athletic, whose sourcing on Liverpool matters is as reliable as any journalist covering the club. Pearce describes wide attackers as Liverpool’s “priority” this summer and expects two new additions to the forward line before the window closes.

Leipzig’s Price Tag Is the Problem

Diomande is 20 years old, plays on the right side, and is an Ivory Coast international who has been on Liverpool’s radar for several months – the club made contact with his representatives well before the summer window opened. Leipzig signed him for just over £17 million less than a year ago, and they are now demanding more than £112 million to let him go.

That is not an unreasonable valuation given his trajectory, but it is an enormous outlay for a player who had played no senior football at that level when Leipzig acquired him. His World Cup opening match for Ivory Coast – a 1-0 victory over Ecuador – only hardened Leipzig’s position, and his own international manager complicated matters further by publicly suggesting he is signing for Liverpool, a claim that carries obvious value to the selling club in any negotiation.

Liverpool have been in direct contact with Leipzig over the past month but have not moved the Germans from their asking price. FSG’s historically strict approach to amortisation and wage structure means a fee north of £112 million is not a formality, even for a player as highly rated as Diomande.

Barcola as Alternative, Nunez Story Does Not Hold

PSG’s Bradley Barcola is the alternative name Pearce has surfaced, and his profile – left-footed, direct, 22 years old – aligns with sporting director Richard Hughes‘ preference for younger, high-ceiling signings. Whether Liverpool pursue him alongside Diomande or as a fallback depends largely on how the Leipzig negotiation develops.

Reports from South America claiming a return for Darwin Nunez from Al Hilal is already agreed are, according to Pearce, wide of the mark. He has explicitly contradicted that story, and senior Liverpool sources are not pointing in Nunez’s direction. That should be treated as unconfirmed noise rather than a live option unless the sourcing improves significantly.

The broader context matters here: Iraola is inheriting a squad that needs structural work after an underwhelming title defence cost Arne Slot his job. The details of Iraola’s appointment and backroom setup suggest a clear-out philosophy rather than incremental adjustment, with Salah, Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konaté, and Rhys Williams all gone as free agents before a ball has been kicked under the new manager.

Salah Return and Other Loose Ends

Any suggestion that Iraola’s appointment might prompt a Salah rethink is, per Pearce, a non-starter. “No chance,” he wrote, noting that Salah himself initiated the discussions in March that led Liverpool to tear up the final year of his contract early. The Egyptian is 34 and assessing his options; Liverpool are not one of them.

Curtis Jones is being sold to Inter Milan, with the Italians preparing an improved bid, which will help free up wage capacity. Federico Chiesa, long unsettled at Anfield, plans talks with Iraola before deciding his future – Pearce is not ruling out the Italian staying, though the situation around Chiesa and Iraola’s plans for him remains genuinely open.

Liverpool’s ability to land Diomande at Leipzig’s asking price is the hinge on which most of this summer turns. If that deal stalls, Barcola becomes the realistic headline move. Either way, two attacking arrivals are the target – and Pearce’s sourcing gives that genuine credibility.