Liverpool's Pursuit of Diomande Fades: Should They Turn to Pulisic?
Liverpool’s chase for Yan Diomande is slipping away – and one of the club’s greatest finishers has a very different idea about what should come next.
Diomande drifts towards Paris
Liverpool went hard for Diomande. An offer worth $113.9 million in total — $91.1m up front with $22.8m in add-ons — underlined how firmly the RB Leipzig winger sat at the top of their summer wishlist.
It still wasn’t enough.
While the 19-year-old lights up the 2026 World Cup with Ivory Coast, his future looks increasingly French. Reports on Sunday revealed his preference is to join Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning European champions, and a five-year agreement between player and club is already said to be in place.
Now it’s a straight negotiation between PSG and RB Leipzig. Nasser Al-Khelaifi has opened direct talks with the Bundesliga side and is described as confident the deal will be pushed over the line. Liverpool, having made their move early, are now watching from a distance.
A shortlist – and a wild card
Liverpool’s recruitment team has not been caught cold. Four names have already been identified as potential alternatives, according to previous reporting from The Athletic: Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh, Cologne’s Said El Mala, Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo and West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville.
All fit the familiar Anfield profile: young, energetic, upward curve, resale value.
Robbie Fowler, though, is looking elsewhere.
The former Liverpool striker, never shy of an opinion on attacking talent, has thrown a different name into the debate — one with a far more established pedigree.
“Plenty of rumours about as to who's going to @LFC. One name I've not seen mentioned is Pulisic,” Fowler wrote on X. “Good age, played in the Prem, exciting player, I'd take him, potentially a Salah type of pathway, thoughts?”
It’s a suggestion that cuts across the usual data-driven, under-the-radar Liverpool targets. Christian Pulisic is no secret.
Pulisic’s profile: proven and restless
Pulisic is in the shop window again this summer, but in a very different setting. The 27-year-old is leading the United States at a World Cup on home soil, helping Mauricio Pochettino’s side finish top of Group D and move into the knockouts.
At club level, he has rebuilt his reputation at AC Milan. After four uneven years at Chelsea, where he made 98 Premier League appearances and scored 20 goals between 2019 and 2023, Serie A has reminded everyone of his sharpness and end product.
His 2025/26 numbers – 10 goals and 4 assists – fall short of Diomande’s 13 goals and 10 assists, but the output only tells part of the story. Pulisic brings Champions League experience, tactical versatility across the front line and a proven record in high-pressure games.
And crucially, his contract situation invites questions. He has just one year left on his Milan deal, though the club hold an option to extend by another 12 months. TEAMtalk reports that Pulisic is disappointed not to have been approached about a new agreement that reflects his status as one of Serie A’s standout attackers, prompting his camp to sound out Premier League interest.
Liverpool have already been linked. As recently as February, they were named among the English clubs to have made contact with his entourage about a potential return to the Premier League.
A Salah-style route back to England?
Fowler’s comparison is pointed. Mohamed Salah arrived at Anfield as a player with unfinished business in England, transformed by a spell in Italy and ready to explode on a bigger stage.
Pulisic’s path is not identical, but the echoes are clear. A winger who left the Premier League with question marks, refined his game in Serie A, and now sits at a contractual crossroads while a World Cup amplifies his profile.
For Milan, the equation is simple. Activate the extra year and protect the asset, or cash in while his value is high and his dissatisfaction is quietly growing. A strong World Cup only tightens that timeline.
For Liverpool, the choice is more complex. Do they stay wedded to the youth-first model that pointed them towards Diomande and the quartet of Minteh, El Mala, Fernandez-Pardo and Summerville? Or do they listen to one of their most iconic No.9s and consider a ready-made, prime-age attacker who knows the league, carries commercial weight, and might be available at a price that undercuts their original €100m-plus swing at Leipzig?
Diomande’s move to Paris looks a matter of when, not if. The real intrigue now lies in whether Liverpool respond with another bold, long-term punt — or seize the chance to turn Pulisic’s frustration in Milan into their next big statement.
