Liverpool's Transfer Strategy: Diomande and Eichhorn on the Radar

Liverpool move fast. Andoni Iraola has barely had time to find his office at Kirkby, yet the club’s recruitment machine is already whirring at full tilt around him.

The Spaniard was confirmed on a two-year deal on Thursday evening as Arne Slot’s successor, and the message from the boardroom is blunt: last season’s fifth place is not the new normal. With Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konaté all leaving on free transfers, Liverpool are staring at gaps in their spine and their soul. They cannot afford a slow summer.

So they’ve gone straight for the top shelf of European talent.

Diomande: the Salah succession plan

The most pressing question is obvious: who follows Salah? Liverpool believe they may have their answer in RB Leipzig’s teenage winger Yan Diomande.

Respected reporter David Ornstein has confirmed that Liverpool are now in contact with Leipzig over a deal for the 19-year-old Ivory Coast international, whose breakout season has turned heads across the continent. Leipzig do not want to sell. They are prepared to dig in and, if pushed, will point to a price of around £112m before they even think about changing their stance.

That hasn’t scared Liverpool off. Nor has it scared off Paris Saint-Germain, who are also in the race, but at this stage the Merseysiders are understood to be ahead of the French champions in the chase.

You can see why they’re pushing. Diomande’s first full senior season has been electric: 13 goals and 10 assists, delivered with the swagger and fearlessness of a player who looks entirely at home at this level. For a club that has just waved goodbye to one of the most devastating wide forwards of the modern era, the attraction is obvious.

From Liverpool’s point of view, this is not just about replacing numbers. It is about finding a new focal point for the next era under Iraola, someone who can grow with a refreshed side and carry a significant part of the attacking burden. Diomande fits the profile: young, explosive, and already proven in a high-intensity league.

Liverpool circle a Berlin prodigy

Yet Diomande is not the only prodigious talent on their radar. While the Salah succession story grabs the headlines, Liverpool are working another line in Germany – one that speaks to a longer-term vision.

Hertha Berlin’s Kennet Eichhorn, just 16, has surged onto the scene so quickly that Europe’s elite have scrambled to keep up. According to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, Liverpool have held fresh talks in the last 48 hours as they push hard to secure the teenager’s signature.

Hertha’s failure to win promotion back to the Bundesliga has opened the door. The club know it will be hard to keep hold of a player this coveted when they cannot offer top-flight football. Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund are already in the conversation, and Liverpool have joined them, intent on persuading Eichhorn that his future lies in England.

At this point, Plettenberg reports, the midfielder is open to all options. No commitment, no closed doors. Just a 16-year-old weighing up a decision that could define his career.

Liverpool’s task is clear: convince him that their pathway is the one that best matches his ambition.

The boy who plays like a veteran

What makes Eichhorn stand out is not just his age. It is what he has already done with it.

He does not turn 17 until next month, yet he has already made 19 senior appearances for Hertha. That number would likely be higher had he not missed time through an ankle injury and a red-card suspension towards the end of the season. Even so, the message is unmistakable: Hertha trust him. They see him as a first-team player now, not a distant project.

Tall, composed and technically polished, Eichhorn carries himself like someone much older. Promoted to the first team in recent months, he has handled the jump with a calm authority that has impressed coaches and team-mates alike.

The scouting list tells its own story. Liverpool, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona – all have watched him. All are aware that a rare midfield profile is emerging in Berlin.

Hertha captain Fabian Reese has called him “an incredible, exceptional talent”, and in Germany the comparisons have already started: Eichhorn has been likened to Toni Kroos. That is a heavy name to attach to a teenager, but it captures the type of player clubs believe he can become – a metronome in midfield, dictating tempo, seeing passes others don’t, playing with an assurance that slows the game down on his terms.

For a club like Liverpool, still reshaping their midfield after the departures of several stalwarts over the last two years, the appeal is obvious. Diomande might be the headline act, the potential Salah heir. Eichhorn could be the one who quietly defines games from deeper areas a few years down the line.

A new era, built on youth

What emerges from all this is a clear picture of Liverpool’s strategy under Iraola. This is not a scattergun response to a disappointing league finish. It is targeted, aggressive and future-facing.

They have lost experience and star power in Robertson, Salah and Konaté. They are responding by chasing players who can form the backbone of the next cycle – a 19-year-old wide forward with end product at the highest level, and a 16-year-old midfielder already trusted in senior football.

Leipzig will fight to keep Diomande. Hertha will try to convince Eichhorn that another year in Berlin is best for his development. PSG, Dortmund, Leverkusen and Europe’s giants will all have their say.

Liverpool know all of that. They are pushing anyway.

If they land even one of these deals, Iraola’s first season will look very different. If they land both, the shape of Liverpool’s future could change in an instant.