Carragher warns Liverpool over £86m Diomande bid after last summer's costly mistakes

Jamie Carragher has cautioned Liverpool against repeating the financial missteps of last summer as the club pursues RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, with the Reds having already had an initial bid rejected and communicating a willingness to pay up to £86million for the 19-year-old.

Leipzig are understood to be holding out for closer to £112million and remain reluctant to sell a player they are keen to tie to a new contract. Diomande, who is representing Ivory Coast at the World Cup, has also attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain.

Carragher, speaking after watching Diomande in action at the tournament, acknowledged the appeal of the signing but pointed to Liverpool’s heavy outlay last summer — which included Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike — as a cautionary tale.

“I thought he was fantastic in the first game of the World Cup,” Carragher said. “Less so in the second game, but still was a real danger. I think what you’d be buying is potential, it’s not what he is right now. He’s a 19-year-old kid, he’s a young man. But when you look at him physically, he looks like he’s got all those attributes.”

Carragher drew comparisons to Liverpool’s most successful wide forwards, suggesting Diomande fits a profile the club has historically thrived with. “You think of the success Liverpool have had in the past with powerful, quick, wide men — Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, especially those two. He certainly looks like he’s got those type of traits. That’s a big thing that Liverpool lacked last season, pace in those wide areas.”

Liverpool have already moved to address their attacking needs this summer, agreeing a deal with Osasuna to sign Spain international Victor Munoz. The 22-year-old, currently on World Cup duty, has signed a six-year contract after completing a medical at Spain’s base in Tennessee.

Carragher sees the logic in targeting Diomande as a complement to Munoz but stopped short of endorsing the fee being discussed. “Maybe they want a little bit of pace on the other side as well. I think it’s pretty obvious where Liverpool were lacking last season. That looks like where they’re going in the market. But is he worth it? Time will tell.”

His broader concern centres on the value Liverpool have extracted from their recent big-money signings. “Liverpool spent big last summer. Right now, a year on, we probably would say those players don’t look worth it,” he added.