Liverpool supporters have been looking for success in recent years and Arne Slott is finally the man to end the club’s hopes of Premier League glory.
The Dutchman led the Reds to a glorious title win in his first attempt in the 2024/25 season, but it would be no exaggeration to say that the following season was one to forget for the manager.
Throughout the 2025/26 season he was only able to lead his team to a fifth-place finish and as a result the 47-year-old was given his marching orders on Merseyside.
Andoni Iraola has since been named as his replacement, with the Spaniard becoming a top target in the hierarchy due to his relentless heavy metal attacking philosophy.
But if the 43-year-old is to succeed at Anfield, the board will once again need to open their checkbooks and support the Spaniard’s quest for glory.
Iraora urges Liverpool to negotiate £100m attacking star
After Mohamed Salah announced his departure from Liverpool, the importance of adding attacking reinforcements to the club has undoubtedly increased tenfold.
PSG winger Bradley Barcola has been touted as one of the signings this season, with Arsenal also said to be keen to secure a £60m deal for him.
The Frenchman’s goal in his country’s World Cup opener on Tuesday night is likely to fuel further interest in the 23-year-old’s signature this summer.
But Barcola is not the only attacking option the Reds have in mind, with RB Leipzig star Yann Diomande also continuing to be linked with a move to Merseyside.
According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool remain very keen on signing the Ivorian and are said to be currently at the front of the queue for his signature.
The paper also claims that Iraola himself is pushing for the 19-year-old, with current Champions League winners PSG also said to be keeping an eye on him.
The deal is said to be getting closer and closer to completion, with “progress” being made on a move that could cost a huge sum of nearly £112m unless the Paris side get in the way. If the deal goes through, it will be the third-highest transfer fee in Anfield club history, after Alexander Isak and Florian Wirths.
Why Diomand has the shades of Kurupi and Semenyo
During his time as Bournemouth manager, Iraola worked with some top-level talent, including attackers Eli Crupi Junior and Antoine Semenyo.
The former of the pair only joined from Lorient for £10 million last summer, but that hasn’t stopped him from attracting attention during the 2025/26 season.
The 19-year-old finished the season with 13 goals for the Cherries, the most goals scored by a teenager in England’s top flight, and attracted interest from Liverpool as a result.
Most goals in a season by a teenager in the Premier League | |
|---|---|
player | tally |
Robbie Fowler | twenty five |
michael owen | 18 |
Romelu Lukaku | 17 |
Nicholas Anelka | 17 |
wayne rooney | 16 |
ryan giggs | 13 |
In other words, Crupi Jr. | 13 |
robbie keene | 12 |
As for Semenyo, the winger had a phenomenal first half of last season with vitality, scoring 10 goals in his first 20 league games before signing for Manchester City for £65 million in January.
Iraola will no doubt be hoping to be able to bring in such talent during his time at Anfield, but it seems highly unlikely that he will be able to sign both of the aforementioned talents in this summer’s deal.
However, the Ivory Coast international has very similar qualities as an attacking talent, and Diomande’s transfer could give him his own version of the pair.
The RB Leipzig youngster will emulate Crupi by starring in his first season in the Premier League, when he was a teenager after joining from another top-five league.
He is also very similar to Semenyo in that he thrives on either flank of attack, while also establishing himself as one of the most threatening talents in the division.
Diomande’s recent stats in the Bundesliga have highlighted his incredible quality in attack, so his reported £100m transfer fee could potentially be a bargain.
The Ivorian, described as ‘generational’ by analyst Bence Boksak, has an impressive success rate of 4.3 successful dribbles per 90, the most of any player in Germany’s top flight.
Such numbers highlight Semenyo’s ability to breeze through opponents, something he made famous during his days working with Iraola on the south coast.
He also shows similarities to Crupi in that he can put the finishing touches on strays and can find the back of the net in plenty, as evidenced by his 12 league goals.
£100m is a huge sum for a player like Diomande, but it’s a move that could hand the new manager much-needed attacking talent this summer.
If he can approach the level of Krupi and Semenyo at Anfield, this deal could be great business and help the Reds move further towards title glory.
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