The latest transfer update concerning Yan Diomande will create a ripple effect which impacts Arsenal.
As per The Mirror, RB Leipzig are determined to keep the 19-year-old winger, despite significant interest from Liverpool and PSG.
Leipzig chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff made it clear last week they are not interested in selling Diomande.
“If I were sporting director, I wouldn’t sell this young player, who hasn’t even completed a full season with us yet, regardless of the asking price,” he told Sky Germany.
“I can only advise the management to keep this player with us for the coming year as well.”
This stance complicates matters for Arsenal’s Champions League final opponents PSG, who had been eyeing Diomande as a potential replacement for Bradley Barcola.
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With Leipzig unwilling to sell, PSG’s plans to offload Barcola, who has just two years remaining on his contract at the Parc des Princes, may now be put on hold.
That is where Arsenal come in.
Barcola has been on the Gunners’ radar as a potential left wing addition this summer, and PSG’s willingness to sell was contingent on landing Diomande as a replacement.
If that avenue is now blocked, Arsenal’s pursuit of the Frenchman becomes considerably more complicated.
What the Yan Diomande transfer update means for Arsenal
Arsenal’s need for a left winger this season is no secret.
Gabriel Martinelli is expected to leave, and Mikel Arteta will want to upgrade that position with an elite-quality replacement.
Diomande himself had been on Arsenal’s radar, but Leipzig’s hardline stance effectively rules that route out for now.
With Anthony Gordon heading to Barcelona and Marcus Rashford’s future unresolved, the left wing market is becoming rather congested.
Barcola remains perhaps the most exciting option available, but Arsenal may need PSG to find an alternative route to replacing him before any deal can progress.
Arteta may have pivoted his thinking as a result.
Morgan Rogers has emerged as a primary target, with the Arsenal manager reportedly leading the pursuit personally.
Rogers is capable of playing centrally or wide, which could open up the tactical possibility of bringing him in as the number ten and shifting Eberechi Eze out to the left (or vice versa).
It would solve multiple problems in one move, and given Rogers’ excitement at the prospect of joining, it may yet prove to be the perfect solution to a summer headache.
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