Neville and Wright hail 'fearless' Yan Diomande as Liverpool target torments Kimmich

Yan Diomande continued his breakout tournament with a dominant first-half display against Germany at Copa America 2024, drawing glowing praise from ITV pundits Gary Neville and Ian Wright as Ivory Coast led 1-0 at half-time in Group E.

The 19-year-old RB Leipzig winger, heavily linked with a Premier League move, had already turned heads by tearing through Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie in Ivory Coast’s opening game. Against Germany, he directed his attention to Joshua Kimmich — one of the most decorated right-backs in world football — and the result was similarly one-sided.

“He’s one of the most experienced right-backs in the world, and he’s toiling in this first half,” Neville said. “He looks afraid of [Diomande]. He is, and look, he’s a 19-year-old kid. They’ve had 56 per cent of their attacks down that side, which is massive. I’ve been there as an ageing right-back when you’ve got a young kid who’s fearless, and it’s not pleasant.”

Ian Wright was equally impressed, arguing that Diomande had fully justified the pre-tournament billing. “He’s definitely lived up to the hype,” Wright said. “After the hydration break, they just took over. In particular, Diomande has just gone to another level in this game. His pressing is brilliant, his taking players on is brilliant — he’s just absolutely tearing them to pieces.”

Neville highlighted the structural problem Diomande was creating for Julian Nagelsmann’s side, noting that Germany were being forced to commit multiple players to contain him — and still struggling. “When you’ve got someone who’s skilful, can go both ways, and is quick, you need support,” he said. “You look at three or four German players trying to get over near Diomande, but even then he’s still trying to take them on. They can’t keep leaving this guy one-on-one, or else they’ll concede again.”

With Liverpool among the clubs reportedly monitoring Diomande, performances like this — against elite international opposition — are only likely to intensify the transfer speculation heading into the summer window.