Liverpool and Tottenham Target Andreas Schjelderup Amid Diomande Bid
Liverpool and Tottenham have fixed their gaze on another emerging wide threat, with Norway World Cup winger Andreas Schjelderup drawing serious attention from both Premier League clubs as Liverpool wrestle with the cost of prising Yan Diomande out of RB Leipzig.
Liverpool’s wide rebuild gathers pace
The reshaping of Liverpool’s attack is already under way. Victor Munoz has arrived from Newcastle United in a €40million (£34.5m) deal, a decisive move to reinforce the left flank and push Cody Gakpo for minutes in that channel.
Munoz fills one gap, not all of them. Mohamed Salah has gone on a free, tearing a hole in Liverpool’s right side and their goals column. Gakpo may also be asked to cover centrally, helping Alexander Isak up front while Hugo Ekitike recovers from an Achilles injury. The domino effect is obvious: Liverpool need more wide players, not fewer.
That urgency is driving their pursuit of Diomande, but it has also opened the door to a second, potentially more attainable option.
Schjelderup on the radar
Reports in Italy from Tuttomercatoweb state that Liverpool are monitoring Benfica’s Schjelderup, with Tottenham also tracking the 22-year-old. Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Como are in the frame as well, turning the chase into a fully fledged European tug-of-war.
Schjelderup’s stock has risen sharply over the last year. He featured in Norway’s first two World Cup group games, a natural extension of a standout club season with Benfica. Across all competitions, he produced 10 goals and seven assists in 43 appearances, part of a side that went unbeaten in the Primeira Liga under Jose Mourinho yet somehow still finished without the title.
Benfica paid €14m to bring him in. That number already looks dated. Initial suggestions have floated a valuation of around €30m (£26m), more than double the original fee. But in Portugal, Record report that Benfica will not even pick up the phone for less than €40m.
Tottenham, according to that same outlet, have “burst” into the race, joining Liverpool in testing Benfica’s resolve. The Italian claims back that up: both English clubs are now firmly “following” the winger with a view to possible talks.
Diomande bid talk shut down
While Schjelderup’s price climbs, the Diomande saga is edging into blockbuster territory.
On Thursday, speculation surfaced that Liverpool had raised their offer for the RB Leipzig star from €100m (£86m) to a staggering €116m (£100m) after seeing their first proposal rejected. It would have been a statement of intent, even by modern transfer standards.
Sky Germany’s Philipp Hinze moved quickly to knock that down. The reported new bid, he said, is “not true”. There has been “not yet” a second offer from Anfield.
Inside Liverpool, the debate is ongoing. Club officials are weighing up whether to go back in with a fresh proposal in the €116–120m bracket, potentially pushing the package to around £104m. That kind of figure would force Leipzig to think hard.
And yet, even that might not be enough.
Record fee or nothing?
Leipzig’s stance remains uncompromising. As revealed on June 19, they are holding out for a Bundesliga-record €148m (£128m) if they are to sell Diomande this summer. The message is blunt: they want him to stay for at least one more year, and only an extraordinary offer changes that plan.
The scale of that valuation explains Liverpool’s careful approach. They clearly see Diomande as the priority. His profile justifies it. Unlike Schjelderup, who operates primarily from the left wing – an area already strengthened by Munoz – Diomande is genuinely two-footed and comfortable on either flank. For a club trying to replace Salah’s output and unpredictability, that versatility is gold.
Schjelderup, at €40m and with a defined role on the left, looks like a strong option but also a redundancy risk if the squad balance tilts the wrong way. Diomande, even at an eye-watering cost, offers tactical flexibility and long-term insurance across both wings.
So Liverpool stand at a familiar crossroads: pay near-record money for the player they truly want, or pivot towards a cheaper, highly rated alternative in a crowded market where Tottenham, Atletico, Milan and others are already circling.
The window is long, the numbers are huge, and the stakes for Liverpool’s next great forward line could hardly be higher.
