Liverpool's plan to sign someone even BETTER than Antoine Semenyo

It appears Liverpool are going to be missing out on Antoine Semenyo, but they could sign someone even better.

For now, Richard Hughes has not surrendered complete defeat in his pursuit of the Bournemouth winger but it is looking almost guaranteed that the club's target will end-up with rivals, Manchester City.

In the end, City pursued Semenyo aggresively in the lead-up to the January window and made an offer the Ghanian simply could not refuse.

Barring any last-minute twists or a drastic change if circumstances, he is expected to become a Man City player and play under Pep Guardiola.

That's going to be disappointing for Liverpool but the Reds seem to be moving on already. There are now plans for the club to sign a player in the summer window who could be even better.

Anfield Watch understands that Liverpool's alternative list includes Yan Diomande, who is very liked by the club's recruitment department.

At 19-years-old, it is believed that the youngster may have an even higher potential than Semenyo having taken to life in the Bundesliga at RB Leipzig with ease.

Richard Hughes in particular is thought to be a keen admirer of his talent, having known about Diomande for some time, even prior to his breakthrough in Europe.

Observers of Diomande's talent highlight his two-footedness as being a major asset, something Semenyo also has in his arsenal.

What makes Diomande such a tremendous prospect is the speed that he carries the ball with combined with extremely technical ball manipulation. He's able to shift his feet very quickly and he has a very clean first-touch that always puts him on the front foot.

On top of that, his explosiveness on and off the ball make him a defender's nightmare.

Liverpool have long been wanting to add a profile of this type into the attack. That's why moves have been pursued for the likes of Anthony Gordon, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola since Richard Hughes' reign.

Arne Slot's style of football relies on speed technicians on the wings. Players who can take defenders on and cause mayhem. This was also the case under Jurgen Klopp and it's now very much ingrained in Liverpool's philosophy.

In this sense, Diomande very much feels like a Liverpool type of player.

So, it's no surprise the club's recruitment team hold him in high regard. Now, if the Semenyo deal to Man City does go through, those plans to sign Diomande as the alternative in the summer window will accelerate.

Ultimately, this could see Liverpool ending-up with the better player in the future. Though Diomande is going to be in very high demand so it's going to be a battle to lure him to Anfield.

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