Winger says club have supported him on and off the pitch and he wants to repay their faith in him
RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande has said he remains committed to the Bundesliga club despite transfer interest from Liverpool following his breakout season in Germany.
The 19-year-old joined Leipzig from Leganes last summer in a €20m deal and has emerged as one of the Bundesliga’s standout young players. Liverpool are among the clubs monitoring his situation.
Diomande, whose contract runs until 2030, said Leipzig has supported him both on and off the pitch and he wants to repay the club’s faith in him.
“My contract here is until 2030, so I have four more years,” Diomande said. “What’s going to happen afterwards? I don’t know. I am a Leipzig player.
“I will never forget this opportunity. It’s not only about playing football. The club helped me a lot off the pitch. The media only sees me on the pitch, but the club helped me a lot with my family and my mom. The only thing I can do for them is to give everything on the pitch and this is what I’m trying to do every day.
“Nobody knew me before and €20m is a lot. It was a big risk for them and I thank them for that. And like I said today, we are in a good way and it’s not over. We need to keep going, keep working hard.”
The Ivory Coast international said speculation around his future motivates him but insisted he remains focused on football.
“You’re going to be happy and motivated to do more,” Diomande said. “I don’t think about this kind of thing because I’m trying to be focused on the pitch and because my job is playing football so [his representatives] will take care of everything outside of the pitch.
“So these kinds of things give me a lot of motivation to see a lot of clubs speaking about you and stuff like this, but I’m focused. “It’s really easy when you have a good team around you. You just have to work and they’re gonna take care of everything because the only thing I can control is playing football.”
His willingness to remain at Leipzig may be disappointing to supporters of interested clubs, but it remains to be seen whether a significant offer this summer from the Premier League could force Leipzig’s hand.
