Real Madrid leave Liverpool helpless in £100m move to steal star

Real Madrid have stolen a march on Liverpool in a mega-money pursuit. The Reds are helpless here.

There's no question that Liverpool went into this summer window hoping to sign Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig. The reports were everywhere and the Reds pushed hard to convince him.

However, Diomande said no. It's difficult to tell how likely a deal ever was and now it seems almost impossible to believe that Liverpool were ever going to get it done.

First, Paris Saint-Germain took the lead in the race. They had Diomande convinced, by all accounts, and looked near-certain to sign him.

Now, though, it's Real Madrid who are the most likely destination. Sky Sports are just one outlet reporting that, claiming that a deal worth over £100m is on the cards.

Which goes to show just how helpless Liverpool were on this one. The Reds not only failed to convince Diomande but apparently were never going to convince Leipzig, either.

Sky's report makes it clear that Liverpool value Diomande at around £85m and weren't willing to go above that. Real Madrid's willingness to entertain a higher offer - let alone PSG's as well - makes it obvious that the Reds were never winning the race.

Essentially, all of the work gone into this transfer was for nothing and it was never going to happen. Liverpool must now pivot to something else as they desperately need a new winger.

Reports on Sunday suggest that Bradley Barcola could be the one, though he'd also be staggeringly expensive. So despite failing to land Diomande, they'll have to take a massive financial risk anyway.