Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola wants the Reds to sign Francisco Trincao amid claims that they could struggle to sign Yan Diomande this summer, according to reports.
The Reds are under new management after they announced Andoni Iraola as their head coach on Thursday with Arne Slot sacked last week.
Slot’s position had been unclear coming up to the end of the season but the Liverpool ownership acted at the end of last month to remove the Dutchman, who won the Premier League title in his first season.
Mohamed Salah’s imminent departure and Cody Gakpo’s poor form, means Liverpool are looking to sign one or two wingers in the summer transfer market.
Widespread reports recently emerged that RB Leipzig winger Diomande had emerged as their top target despite interest from Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain.
And David Ornstein of The Athletic revealed on Monday that Liverpool ‘made contact’ with RB Leipzig as the Reds have emerged as ‘the strongest position with the player over a potential deal at present’.
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RB Leipzig are looking to keep the Ivory Coast international for at least another season with Ornstein adding that it ‘would take a bid in excess of €130million (£112.4m, $151.2m) to change that stance’.
Our friends at TEAMtalk are reporting that the Bundesliga side are now ‘confident’ that Diomande ‘will stay at the club this summer despite Liverpool’s growing determination to sign him’.
Iraola wants Diomande to come and play for him at Liverpool with the Spaniard understood to be ‘a huge admirer of the winger’.
RB Leipzig ‘believe another season in Germany would benefit both the player and themselves, allowing his value and development to continue accelerating’ and, crucially, Diomande ‘is not pushing for a move’ elswhere.
And that could lead to Liverpool securing a deal for another winger with Portuguese publication Correio da Manha (via Sport Witness) claiming that Iraola’s arrival ‘has done nothing to cool interest’ Sporting CP star Trincao.
In fact, Trincao ‘remains at the very top of the club’s shortlist’ with the report claiming that the ‘path is becoming much harder’ for Liverpool to sign Diomande.
The €60m release clause is also ‘significantly lower’ than the huge fee Liverpool might have to pay for Diomande – but the Reds could have to wait until after the World Cup to land Trincao as Sporting don’t want to hold talks until the tournament has finished.
PSG are the other club heavily interested in Diomande with the RB Leipzig winger admitting his admiration for the Champions League winners this week.
Speaking ahead of the World Cup with French newspaper L’Equipe, Diomande said: “Paris Saint-Germain is a team I’ve loved since I was a child. My father supports Paris Saint-Germain, and it’s a team I admire as a football fan.
“It would be a pleasure for me to come and play here with one of the biggest clubs. It’s always a pleasure to come here because, with French being spoken, I think adapting wouldn’t be difficult. But why not?.
“I don’t think I’m looking ahead to the future or focusing on anything else. As I’ve said, I remain focused on the World Cup.
“After that, the clubs will sort things out between themselves and we’ll see what happens next.”
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