Liverpool’s Yan Diomande Pursuit Slips as Pulisic Emerges
Liverpool’s pursuit of Yan Diomande is slipping away, and fast. But as one door edges shut, a club legend is already pointing at another.
Diomande drifts towards Paris
Liverpool went hard for Diomande. An offer worth $113.9 million — $91.1m up front and $22.8m in add-ons — underlined how badly the club wanted the RB Leipzig winger. At 19, already starring for Ivory Coast at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he had been earmarked as a headline signing for the summer.
It hasn’t gone to plan.
Reports on Sunday revealed Diomande’s preference is to join Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning European champions. He is said to have agreed a five-year deal to move to the French capital, leaving Liverpool watching from a distance as PSG and RB Leipzig now thrash out the fee.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has already opened direct talks with the Bundesliga club and is described as confident of getting the deal over the line. Liverpool’s priority target looks destined to swap Leipzig for Paris, not Anfield.
Backup list in place – and a different idea from Fowler
Liverpool, though, has not been caught cold. The club is understood to have drawn up a list of four alternatives: Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh, Cologne’s Said El Mala, Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo and West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville, as previously reported by The Athletic.
All are talented. All fit the age and profile Liverpool tends to chase. Yet one former Anfield hero thinks the club should be looking elsewhere.
Robbie Fowler, never shy of an opinion where Liverpool’s attack is concerned, took to X with a different suggestion: Christian Pulisic.
“Plenty of rumours about as to who's going to @LFC. One name I've not seen mentioned is Pulisic,” he wrote. “Good age, played in the Prem, exciting player, I'd take him, potentially a Salah type of pathway, thoughts?”
In a few lines, Fowler captured a growing sense that Liverpool might benefit from a slightly more proven option rather than another pure prospect.
Pulisic’s profile: proven, hungry, and at a crossroads
Pulisic is in the shop window again, whether he planned it or not.
The 27-year-old is currently leading the United States at a World Cup on home soil, helping Mauricio Pochettino’s side top Group D and reach the knockout rounds. On this stage, every touch is a reminder of what he can do at full throttle: carry the ball at pace, break lines, decide games.
At club level, he has rebuilt his reputation at AC Milan after an uneven spell in England. In Serie A, he has reminded Europe of his sharpness and versatility, operating across the front line and re-establishing himself as one of the division’s standout attackers.
The numbers tell part of the story. In the 2025/26 season, Pulisic has produced 10 goals and 4 assists. Diomande, by comparison, has 13 goals and 10 assists. The Leipzig teenager edges the raw output, but Pulisic brings something different: experience at the very top, and a body of work across two major leagues.
He knows the Premier League. With Chelsea, he made 98 top-flight appearances between 2019 and 2023, scoring 20 goals. He has felt the pace, the physicality, the scrutiny. That matters to a club like Liverpool, where the expectation to deliver from day one is relentless.
Contract tension at Milan
All of this is unfolding against a tense backdrop at Milan.
Pulisic has just one year left on his contract at San Siro, although the club holds an option to extend it by another 12 months. TEAMtalk reports that he is disappointed not to have been approached about a new deal that reflects his status as one of Serie A’s best attackers.
The silence has not gone unnoticed. With no improved offer on the table, his entourage has begun to sound out Premier League clubs over a possible return to England. Liverpool’s name has already surfaced in that context: as recently as February, the club was reported to be among those to have made contact with his camp.
From Milan’s perspective, the situation is delicate. Activate the option and keep a valuable asset on the books, or cash in now while his stock is rising, especially if he delivers a strong World Cup on American soil. The temptation to sell this summer will only grow if bids arrive.
A familiar pathway – and a big decision
This is where Fowler’s comparison bites. Liverpool once plucked Mohamed Salah from Serie A after he had rebuilt himself at Roma, turning a talented, slightly underappreciated winger into one of the most devastating forwards in world football.
Pulisic is not Salah. Different player, different profile. But the idea of a wide forward in his mid-20s, with Premier League scars and Serie A polish, arriving at Anfield with a point to prove? That storyline feels familiar.
Liverpool’s recruitment team will stick to the data, the scouting reports, the long-term plan. Diomande may be gone, PSG-bound and out of reach. The four listed alternatives remain on the radar.
Yet somewhere between Leipzig and Milan, between raw potential and proven pedigree, lies the choice that will shape Liverpool’s next attacking era.
Do they gamble on the next big thing, or trust a player who has already walked the tightrope of expectation and is desperate for another shot at England’s elite stage?
