Report: Bundesliga giants fear Liverpool have agreement with target

Liverpool have emerged as the front-runners for RB Leipzig’s 19-year-old winger Yan Diomande ahead of the 2026 summer window, with senior figures at Bayern Munich increasingly convinced that the Premier League club have already secured a personal agreement with the Ivorian.

Diomande, who moved to the Bundesliga from Leganes in 2025, has become one of Europe’s most coveted attackers after a meteoric rise in Germany. Leipzig have slapped a €100 million valuation on the teenager, a fee that reflects both his raw pace and the expectation that he could eventually succeed Mohamed Salah on Liverpool’s right flank.

Under Arne Slot, who delivered the Premier League title to Anfield in 2024-25, Liverpool’s recruitment team have prioritised long-term attacking depth. Diomande fits the profile of a high-ceiling talent who can be groomed into an elite performer, a strategy that has guided the club’s recent market activity.

Bayern Munich remain in the background, monitoring Diomande’s situation while simultaneously sounding out alternatives. Internal discussions at the Säbener Straße have turned to Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo should their pursuit of Diomande falter. A social-media post on 21 February claimed that influential voices inside Bayern believe Gakpo’s direct running would exploit the Bundesliga’s transitional spaces in the same way Luis Díaz has done.

The twist, according to the same source, is that Bayern could unwittingly bankroll Liverpool’s move for Diomande. Should Bayern pivot to Gakpo, they are prepared to pay up to £65 million (€75 million) for the Dutch international—funds that would effectively underwrite the deal for the player who rejected them.

No formal agreement between Liverpool and Diomande has been confirmed, but the perception inside Bayern’s boardroom is that the Merseyside club are the most advanced in negotiations. Executives caution that the assessment remains internal and unverified, yet it has already shaped Bayern’s contingency planning.

For Liverpool, the potential arrival of Diomande would represent another statement of intent as Slot refines a squad capable of competing domestically and in Europe for years to come. For Bayern, the coming months will determine whether they challenge Liverpool head-on for Diomande or redirect resources toward a proven Premier League performer in Gakpo.