Real Madrid have an awful lot invested in Yan Diomande, and while he is much more proven than most of the 19 year old players who come to the club, he still only has that one season of standout play at the top level of European football with his 20 goal contributions for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga last season.
And unlike the others, Real Madrid are paying Diomande like he is already a top five player in the world, at least, splurging a record 140 million euros on the Ivorian international after they realized they could not make a Galactic splash for Michael Olise from his old rivals Bayern Munich.
So far, Diomande has shown really intriguing traits, and he has been drawing his ravest reviews on the practice pitch as one of the best players on the pitch. In the actual games, Diomande has shown up well in terms of his decision making and ability to take care of the ball, but his subpar performance off the bench in a loss to Real Betis was a sobering reminder that he has a lot to work on before he can be a big star at Real Madrid.
Yan Diomande is playing scared
The level and expectations in Madrid are simply unlike anywhere else, and with the game on the line, Yan Diomande was not at all able to make an impact for the Royal Whites. Promising as he is, Diomande was a total zero for the Merengues, as he created nothing for his teammates and frustrated the heck out of his fans by constantly passing the ball backwards.
Real Madrid fans remember how Franco Mastantuono was on the right wing last season in his first campaign at the club, eventually requiring a loan move to Fiorentina this summer to set him straight. Mastantuono would pass the ball backwards and hang out wide playing scared, and Real Madrid fans are noticing that Diomande has been playing scared.
We are not seeing the free flowing football and the explosion of Diomande that we saw last season in Leipzig when he did not need a second invitation to explode with the ball at his feet and blow by defenders. He has never done that except maybe once in a Madrid shirt despite getting a run of minutes off the bench in nearly every game.
Jose Mourinho has to whip that confidence into Diomande and that fearlessness we saw last season, otherwise it will be just like having another Mastantuono in the attack.
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