Journalist confirms Liverpool won’t let €100m move drag on
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Liverpool Transfer News: Yan Diomande Bid Shows Clear Summer Urgency
Liverpool’s pursuit of Yan Diomande has moved quickly, and perhaps more tellingly, it may not be allowed to move slowly.
According to Ben Jacobs, Liverpool’s offer for the RB Leipzig winger was “actually €80m+€20m not €90m+€10m, as originally thought.” That distinction matters. It suggests a club attempting to structure a major deal with significant incentives attached, rather than simply throwing a flat fee at Leipzig and waiting for the answer.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThat answer, for now, was clear.
“The €80m+€20m offer was pretty swiftly rejected and Liverpool are now assessing whether Leipzig are prepared to engage.”
Diomande Priority Clear as Liverpool Test Leipzig
Jacobs reports that “Liverpool view Diomande as a priority, while PSG could bid as well. Optimism player wants to join.”
That is the encouraging part for Liverpool. In modern transfer football, the player’s preference can be decisive. It does not guarantee a deal, especially when Leipzig are involved, but it can shape negotiations.
Yet Liverpool appear determined not to repeat old mistakes. Jacobs adds that “if Leipzig don’t engage over a sale, Liverpool are also prepared to move on to other targets. Said El Mala, Yankuba Minteh and Matias Fernandez-Pardo among them, while Bradley Barcola appreciated.”
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AdvertisementAdvertisementThis is recruitment with a clock attached. Liverpool admire Diomande, but admiration alone cannot be allowed to swallow a summer.
Isak Lesson Shapes Liverpool Thinking
One line from Jacobs feels especially important.
“Diomande not expected to be a drawn out saga, as was the case with Alexander Isak 12 months ago.”
That Isak pursuit was different. As Jacobs explains, “Liverpool waited all summer for Isak due to more complicated circumstances (Newcastle incomings influenced timeline), and knowing his form, peak age and status as a proven Premier League goalscorer all supported that waiting tactic.”
In other words, Liverpool waited because Isak was worth waiting for. Diomande may be a priority, but he is not yet that kind of certainty.
AdvertisementAdvertisementWide Areas Need Fast Action
Jacobs states that “This window, there is urgency to add in wide areas and as a result Liverpool are not planning for Diomande pursuit to run into August.”
That feels like the key message. Liverpool know what they need. They need pace, threat, unpredictability and goals from wide areas. They also need clarity.
A drawn out saga helps nobody. Not the manager, not the recruitment team, not the squad, and certainly not the supporters who have seen too many summers become exercises in patience.
Diomande may yet become Liverpool’s marquee attacking addition. The player appears open, the bid has been made, and the intent is obvious. But Liverpool’s stance now looks measured rather than emotional.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThey want Diomande. They may even believe he wants them. But if Leipzig keep the door shut, Liverpool seem ready to walk towards another one.
Our View – Anfield Index Analysis
From a Liverpool fan’s perspective, this feels like one of those transfers where the process matters almost as much as the player.
Diomande is exciting. He fits the idea of what Liverpool need, explosive, direct, young and capable of changing the energy of the attack. If the club genuinely believe he is the best wide option available, then a serious €80m+€20m package shows ambition.
But there is also a sensible edge here. Liverpool cannot afford another summer where one target dominates the entire window. Wide areas need work now, not in the final week of August. If Leipzig want to negotiate, great. If not, move.
That list of alternatives is interesting too. Yankuba Minteh brings Premier League experience and chaos. Matias Fernandez-Pardo feels like a more developmental bet. Bradley Barcola would be hugely exciting, though likely difficult. Said El Mala is another name that suggests Liverpool are looking across different price points and profiles.
The key is not panic, it is precision. Liverpool need the right winger, but they also need the right timing. Diomande may be the first choice, but he cannot become the only choice.
For once, Liverpool appear to be saying, we have a plan, but we also have a deadline.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
