Real Madrid only needed a day to secure the signing of Yan Diomande. Jose Mourinho told Florentino Perez this was the perfect player for him, and instead of messing around waiting for the Bayern Munich green light on Michael Olise that would certainly never come this summer, Flo listened to his great manager and brought in Diomande at a reasonable fee for what should be 110-120 million euros.
After Lamine Yamal, Diomande is the best winger prospect in the world and, for those who actually watch the Bundesliga, was just as good as Olise in the German top flight last season as a much younger player on a much worse team.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from Madrid bagging the Ivory Coast international.
Winner: Jose Mourinho
Like with the Marc Cucurella transfer, Jose Mourinho has to be the biggest winner here. He demanded the blockbuster signing and got it, and so Mourinho gets the winger he wanted who can take players on, offer speed on the counter, change games with goals and assists, and work his butt off for the team with a great attitude. The signing being successfully done this quickly at any reasonable cost is also another feather in Mou's camp that he is the main man on campus at the Valdebebas.
Loser: Rodrygo Goes
As Rodrygo Goes recovers from his torn ACL, he has 100 percent lost his spot in the starting lineup and will never get it back, because Diomande is by far a better right winger than him. Diomande scores and assists more, takes more players on, and has the same fight. Rodrygo is not even better technically. While Rodrygo is a great player, he has to be satisfied with being an iconic role player for Real Madrid, which is very important, but he is not the main man on the right - nor was he really ever.
Winner: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold will love working with Diomande on the right flank. The Ivorian's speed and work rate will be a magical pairing for Trent, who can play the best football of his career finally having a right winger who is more focused on all around play and with the speed to help out. At Liverpool, Mohamed Salah was focused more on scoring than helping out in defense, while last season, Real Madrid did not have enough pace to actually help Trent on the right. Now, Trent can focus even more on playmaking, including to Diomande specifically on those rapid counters.
Loser: Vinicius Junior
Real Madrid are not going to want to lose Vinicius Junior, but if he keeps spending his time on cosmetic surgeries rather than working on a new contract, he is going to go. It is a take it or leave it offer, and if Vinicius's head is still too big, then he thinks he is too big for Real's offer and will want to go regardless of what his agents say about him wanting to stay. Vinicius can be a Real Madrid legend and is already an icon of the club for the two Champions Leagues, but if he wants to go, Real have sent a clear message that they can just replace him with Diomande and sign Michael Olise on the right next year.
Winner: Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe will love actually having a speedy, hard working right winger who can run the counters, too, and do the dirty work defensively with his constant covering and running. Mbappe's life will get a whole lot easier with Yan Diomande around.
Add us as a preferred source on Google