Why a Liverpool transfer for Ousmane Diomande would hold shades of Konate move – opinion

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Diomande, Liverpool
Sporting's Ivorian defender #26 Ousmane Diomande (L) heads the ball as he vies with Benfica's Portuguese forward #27 Rafa Silva during the Portuguese League football match between SL Benfica and Sporting Lisbon at the Luz stadium in Lisbon on November 12, 2023. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)

Liverpool’s reported interest in Sporting CP’s Goncalo Inacio has been well-documented in recent months.

Of course, it’s difficult to say with any degree of certainty which long-term signing the Reds will make to bolster the left side of their backline.

Given the Portuguese international’s limited aerial prowess, however, we have some serious concerns over his ability to fill Virgil van Dijk’s boots in the long run.

Van Dijk, Liverpool
Who could replace Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool? – (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Which is why recent links to the 22-year-old’s younger centre-back partner, Ousmane Diomande (20), are particularly intriguing.

An actual aerial threat

Lewis Steele reported on Monday for the Daily Mail that the Ivorian is ‘also liked after some stellar performances for Ruben Amorim’s side’.

We can see why given, firstly, a younger profile would surely be more attractive when putting forward an argument for a potential signing to wait patiently in our No.4’s lofty shadow.

A key point of intrigue as far as the Dutch international is concerned, however, is Diomande’s comparatively superior aerial numbers to his Sporting teammate.

FBref have the 6’3″ centre-half down as being aerially inferior to Inacio (6’1″) on an initial look – the former ranking in the 21st percentile for aerials won compared to the latter’s 29th percentile – but a deeper dive into the numbers suggests otherwise.

Sam McGuire is, indeed, on the money. FBref have Diomande down as having won 71.8% of his aerial duels in 2023/24 – more than double Goncalo Inacio’s 37% this term and higher than his best season (61.6% in 2020/21).

It’s a serious improvement on his own numbers last term (43.3%) too, not to mention being generally quite impressive for a defender who was still a teenager at the start of the current campaign.

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Shades of Ibrahima Konate transfer

It wouldn’t be the first time Liverpool have apparently given the impression of focusing on one particular player at a club before happily snapping up a different name in the same position.

The footballing world raised a collective brow at our recruitment team’s decision to pursue Ibrahima Konate over Dayot Upamecano, despite most reports at the time heavily suggesting the latter was our top target.

One Frenchman went to Merseyside and the other was quickly snapped up by Bayern Munich.

Konate, Liverpool
Konate and Upamecano with the French national team – (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

In that vein of thought, it’s entirely possible those closely following our line of sight in Portugal have misidentified our potentially ideal centre-back target.

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that it won’t be any easier to land Ousmane Diomande either this January or in the summer with a release clause running up at just under £70m – roughly £18m more than Inacio’s.

That said, if the long-term goal is to find someone capable of filling Virgil van Dijk’s boots, you could argue that £70m is a cheap price to pay.

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