Where is Yan Diomande's ceiling?

Every club is searching for the next dynamic winger. In today’s era where teams are increasingly moving towards some form of a man-marking defensive scheme, having a player who regularly dribbles past their marker and forces the opposition into tough decisions is immensely valuable. The constant problem of breaking down stubborn low blocks is easier to solve when there are attacking threats who can cook off the dribble.

One of the young electric wingers who might break out soon is Yan Diomandé.

His career arc is quite fascinating for someone who turned 19 less than a month ago. You don’t often see players within the big 5 leagues train in Florida’s DME Academy during the early parts of their career, which he did from 2022-24. Leganés signed him in late November 2024 and brought him into the first team following the March international break. His three goals and assists from 10 La Liga appearances (6 starts) was a solid return when also accounting for his age.

RB Leipzig saw enough and spent roughly €20m over the summer to acquire the Ivorian, and the early results look promising. 8.6 90s is not a robust sample, but he fits the profile of a high volume dribbler with some promise as a playmaker.

The obvious appeal with Diomandé is how gifted of a dribbler and carrier he is. So far in 2025-26, he’s tied for 11th in the Bundesliga for carries which led to a chance or a shot according to Opta Analyst. Among wingers and attacking midfielders in the big 5 leagues, on a per 90 basis he’s in the 98th percentile for progressive carries, carries into the final third, and carries into the penalty box via FBref. Any metric which tries to quantify dribbling and carry prowess, he’s been among the best in Europe.

Those stats help illustrate how versatile Diomandé is off the dribble. In deeper areas, he can string together quick dribbles to evade opponents. It’s been the case on either flank due to him comfortably utilizing either foot. Even when dealing with contact, he can absorb those blows and not lose possession so often to be a hindrance. The level of functional strength he’s shown is impressive for a teenager. Once he gets to his 2nd and 3rd step when facing forward, the opposition has a hard time catching up to him, which has been the case in both Spanish and German football.

Higher up the pitch, he’s already shown the ability to consistently beat his marker using a quick burst. You’ll see him almost lull his opponent into a false sense of security before getting separation by attacking the defender’s hips. Because of his comfort utilizing both feet, it allows him to be less predictable on when he’ll try to attack the byline. His strength allows him to duck and power through gaps to get into the wide areas of the box. You can argue that maybe he relies on his gifts so much that he slows the tempo down too often into static 1v1s, but it’s understandable given how successful he’s been so far. 

It’s all well and good to be a high volume dribbler, but reliably making the correct read afterwards is what separates the good from the great. In Diomandé’s case, the building blocks are there. During progressive carries, he’s looking to try and hit teammates into space which can turn into dangerous sequences. This occurred twice vs Stuttgart, with one registering as a key pass. He’s quite active at looking for quick 1-2’s to get forward, with a good example being his goal vs Augsburg. While very simple, his square passes have so far shown to be consistently weighted which helps his teammates prepare their next action. The majority of his created chances so far this season have been laterals from around the box, rather than throughballs or crosses (a weakness of his at the moment). 

Off the ball is the biggest concern with Diomandé’s skill-set at the moment. Interestingly, this is more to do with the lack of off-ball movement rather than out of possession. Defensively, he’s willing to track back and help his full-backs, and is active in counterpressing situations. You wouldn’t classify him as a liability compared to others of a similar archetype. 

Higher up the pitch, he’s most likely to make something happen through those quick combinations previously mentioned. Other than that, you’ll see him regularly be idle on either flank for stretches of play. Maybe he’ll jog into the box to provide an option, but not done so with authority. Those underlapping runs into the box for cut-backs can be quite powerful in the final third. Some of the best attackers in the world profit heavily from those cuts, but at the moment, it’s not something in Diomandé’s repertoire. 

In general, Diomandé rarely surveys the pitch to look for forward space through movement, including losing out on opportunities at attacking the back post when teammates are attempting crosses. Perhaps some of it is done by design tactically, but even still, he could stand to be more adventurous in this area because there are goal scoring looks being left on the table. While an xG/shot of 0.12 is pretty decent for a non-striker, some of this is fuelled by him being able to benefit from clear looks during transitions.

Diomandé’s profile currently is the prototypical 1v1 winger, someone you often give the ball to in different match scenarios and he can help move you into valuable areas. The ability to absorb contact without breaking too much of his stride, in addition to elite burst, makes him a handful to deal with as a dribbler and progressive carrier of the ball. There’s some optimism with his passing and playmaking, although I think the numbers are maybe a bit too rosy at the moment. Off-ball movement is decidedly a weakness of his, and if that continues, there becomes a hard limit on how many goals and assists he can produce over the course of a season.

Such an archetype has a narrower pathway towards stardom since almost all of their value comes from what they can do on the ball. If one was to add further skepticism, they’d remark on the lack of fullbacks in the Bundesliga who can capably defend in 1v1s. As well, higher end athletes in La Liga can noticeably stand out compared to the rest of the pack. That said, even with the small sample size available, there’s enough in the tape to suggest he will remain tough to contain no matter which league he next moves to. Having either foot to rely on makes it a little easier as an on-ball initiator. If the off-ball stuff doesn’t change markedly, Diomandé has to become a high-end chance creator or risk topping out as a fun winger who resides a couple levels below the best at his position. 

There’s an obvious comparison to be made with Jérémy Doku during his early years with Stade Rennais, and it has some merit. Both Diomandé and Doku as teenage talents showed the capacity to handle a ton of 1v1 situations because of a first step that could help them regularly blow by their marker. In addition, strong two-footedness helped amplify their on-ball gifts to make them less predictable from wide areas. Their statistical profiles have some similarities, although Diomandé has the edge with both shot volume and locations.

For their similarities, there are differences between the two. For one, Diomandé is stronger than Doku was at the same age. Despite the former’s better shot profile, the latter was arguably more active off the ball. While not a strength of either, Doku would try to make off-ball runs along the flanks to potentially help set up teammates in the box. Crossing is an area where Doku, even at that age, had a notable advantage. Doku probably had the edge in burst over short distances, but Diomandé is arguably faster over longer distances.

Without any improvements off the ball, could Diomandé eventually reach the level of creator Doku has ascended to? It’s possible, although not guaranteed. It took several years of reps, along with some positional tweaking, for the Belgian star to become the fearsome play driver he currently is. His performance vs Liverpool was illustrative of how terrifying he’s become, and with him now regularly providing assists in matches, this season is shaping to be his best by a considerable distance. Diomandé is already producing goals and assists at a higher rate than Doku when both were teenagers, but it remains to be seen whether the Ivorian can become the kind of attacker with strong underlying numbers.

Despite Diomandé’s limited resume in European football so far, it’s easy to see why people are excited about him. There’s the outline of a future star with the skill-set he’s flashed, although considerable development is needed to reach such a lofty level. If he can become the kind of winger who torches fullbacks all the time and regularly creates chances for others, then it might not be too long before Yan Diomandé is considered a star in European football.

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