Liverpool fear World Cup spotlight will inflate Yan Diomande's £104m price tag

Liverpool are bracing for RB Leipzig to harden their stance on Yan Diomande after the 19-year-old winger’s World Cup performances threaten to push his asking price beyond the €120m (£104m) the German club already have in mind. Sporting director Richard Hughes has reportedly seen an opening offer of around €100m (£86.7m) rejected, with Leipzig insisting the Ivory Coast international is not for sale on their terms.

Diomande arrived at Leipzig from Leganes for just £17.3m last summer and repaid that fee many times over in his debut campaign, registering 13 goals and 10 assists in 36 appearances. Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schafer has been unambiguous about the club’s position. “We don’t have to say yes to any offer whatsoever,” Schafer said recently. “Yan doesn’t have a release clause. That means we’re in the driver’s seat and everyone else is in the back seat.”

The player himself has given little indication he is pushing for a move. “My contract here is until 2030, so I have four more years,” Diomande said last month. “I am a Leipzig player. I will never forget this opportunity.”

According to German newspaper Bild, Leipzig are deliberately holding firm in negotiations with both Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, calculating that a high-profile World Cup could attract further bidders and justify an even steeper fee. Diomande earned the man of the match award in Ivory Coast’s 1-0 win over Ecuador and faces a significantly larger audience when his country meet Group E leaders Germany in Toronto on Saturday.

Liverpool’s interest in Diomande centres on finding a long-term successor to Mohamed Salah, who departed Anfield at the end of last season. Hughes has already moved quickly in this window, signing Osasuna winger Victor Munoz for €40m (£34.6m), but Diomande represents a considerably more complex and expensive pursuit.

With PSG also in the race and Leipzig under no contractual pressure to sell, Liverpool face the prospect of a protracted negotiation — one that a starring turn on the World Cup stage could make considerably more expensive.