Not just Bazoumana Toure and Yan Diomande, Liverpool lining up third Ivorian transfer

Liverpool have a third Ivorian player on the club's radar.

For a long time in the early 2000s, it felt like the Ivory Coast would have hegemony in African football.

Around then a golden generation emerged and it transformed the country into a footballing superpower.

At the helm was Didier Drogba, Yaya and Kolo Toure as well as many other Premier League stars. They were the flag bearers for an entire nation, and their legacy culminated in multiple World Cup appearances and finally an African Cup of Nations triumph in 2015 as well.

Nowadays, Senegal and Morocco are at the helm of African football but Ivory Coast is making a comeback and there's an exciting new generation emerging in the country ready to continue and even surpass the legacy of those who came before them.

At the heart of this new face of the Ivory Coast are two players very much on Liverpool's radar.

Yan Diomande and Bazoumana Toure are both summer targets for Liverpool. Diomande is someone who a lot of clubs are after and for whom RB Leipzig want a lot of money.

But that will not deter Liverpool, who will feel confident they can still attract the 19-year-old, who on paper is the perfect fit for the club and their post-Mo Salah plans.

Toure of Hoffenheim is an equally impressive player and he's recently emerged on Liverpool's radar with scouts extensively following him.

Liverpool had a strong contingent looking at his performance at the Hill Dickinson Stadium last month, when his Ivory Coast side took on Scotland in an international friendly.

However, Toure was not the only player Liverpool scouts were keeping an eye on.

Anfield Watch understands, Liverpool are also admirers of Christ Inao Oulai, with the club's scouts impressed by the 20-year-old midfielder's performances.

The Ivorian youngster was on the pitch against Scotland, so given Liverpool's admiration for him, he was likely being looked at alongside Toure, too.

Oulai plays for Trabzonspor at club level and caught the eye in Ligue 2 last season as well, while playing there as a teenager.

He isn't the tallest but he has incredible energy and he covers a lot of ground.

He has this ability to be everywhere all at once that makes him perfectly suited to the high intensity football that Liverpool want to play.

It's important to mention that Oulai is incredibly mature for his age. He has been dictating games for Trabzonspor in Turkey's top flight, and has showcased brilliant composure on the ball.

He averages 50 passes per 90 minutes in Turkey's Super Lig and completes 91.4% of his passes.

He doesn't just play it safe, he progresses the ball and averages 7.7 passes into the final third. On top of that, he can make forward runs as well, averaging 2.34 progressive runs per 90 minutes.

Defensively, he is all action. He presses really high and loves to win the ball back in the opposition's half, averaging around 2.5 recoveries per 90 minutes in the opposition's half.

He still needs to improve with his decision making sometimes and it's moot whether Liverpool, who do need a midfielder of his profile, do make a move for him this summer.

But he is on the club's radar, and in the future, the Reds could easily have a strong Ivorian contingent, a bit like when Drogba and Salomon Kalou both played for Chelsea.

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