Yan Diomande interview: On the World Cup with Cote d'Ivoire, his gratitude to RB Leipzig and trials with Crystal Palace

“Everything went fast,” says Yan Diomande. Indeed, it is extraordinary now to think that this time last year Diomande’s entire senior career amounted to half a dozen starts for Leganes at the back end of last season as they were relegated from LaLiga.

He scored in two of those six games, against Espanyol and Valladolid. Even his team did not find the net in the other four. But the teenager did enough to persuade RB Leipzig to part with €20m to bring him to the Bundesliga. Once there, he has been a revelation.

Thrilling to watch and impossible to defend, Diomande is lightning, full of unpredictable enterprise. He has the things that cannot be coached and by listening to the things that can he is getting better. The very biggest clubs want him. The rest cannot afford him.

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"This year was amazing for me," he says, in conversation with a select group of reporters from around the world. "To play in the AFCON at 19, to qualify for the World Cup, to play in the Champions League, and I am on my way to the World Cup. I am just proud."

The numbers provide the context to explain the hype. This season, his very first in the Bundesliga, remember, brought 12 goals and eight assists. But perhaps most notably, it delivered 118 successful dribbles, 50 more than any other player in the competition.

Diomande traumatised defenders. He scored on his debut and added a hat-trick against Eintracht Frankfurt in December. A clear bargain within weeks, it was soon inevitable that he would become Leipzig's record sale. How did the rest of football miss him?

Unusual route to the top

The origin story of football's next superstar is unusual. Born in Abidjan in Cote d'Ivoire, he was just a boy when he moved to the United States in search of opportunity. "Living alone, it isn't a problem because it went like this since I was young," he explains.

"I did not live with my family. I left my family." The experience has moulded him. He describes it as easy "to go to another place to fight and train hard" because that is what he has always done. "I can live alone forever," he reiterates. "It is not a problem for me."

He downplays the difficulty of his new start in the States. "It was easy. It is really difficult in Africa. I know I was alone and it was difficult with the language, with the culture. But it was a great experience." He trained at a specialist athletic academy in Florida.

There, his talent was apparent and he was subsequently touted around Europe, briefly living a nomadic existence. He had trials up in Scotland, with Premier League clubs Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. Again, he regards all this as an adventure.

"I did not know what was going on," he says, laughing. "For me, it was just funny moving from club to club like this, to see players like [Michael] Olise and [Eberechi] Eze. That was a good experience." He recalls visiting Olympiakos too. "Then I signed for Leganes."

Heroes and role models

It proved an ideal landing base in Europe, high profile enough to catch the eye but just far enough from the spotlight to keep learning. "Everyone knows that I want to fight every day. I want to win every day. I want to do everything for the team," he says.

Heroes? "My idol before was Cristiano Ronaldo and I also like R9 but I am looking at a lot of players like Vini and [Kylian] Mbappe. I am trying to look at players who play the same position as me to try to take the good things and reproduce them on the pitch."

Already, Diomande himself is a role model. "I am happy to hear that and I want to keep going. I am a human being. I can make mistakes. If you did not do a good game, you need to recognise it and work hard for the next. I did a lot of **** games in the season."

Diomande's humility is endearing and almost every sentence sounds like motivation. "Sometimes it is good to have pressure. You have to give everything, every day, every minute, every second. Every day you need to improve something, even one per cent."

Gratitude to Leipzig

Particularly impressive is his obvious gratitude to Leipzig for believing in him. "Nobody knew me before," he concedes, with rare self-awareness about his own status then. "To put up €20 million, it is a lot to buy a talent nobody knows. That was a big risk for them."

There is no pretence about the financial impact of the move, either. It changed his life. "I know you cannot buy happiness with money but this is one part of happiness. I got money from Leipzig to help my family, to bring my family here, to take care of them."

He hints at the support he and his family received. "I have a lot of things that came up and nobody knows. Only the club helped me with this." Asked to elaborate on the specifics, he adds: "I cannot explain, it is too much. We would need more time."

But it is enough to explain what is driving him on. "I want to thank everyone at the club who gave me this amazing opportunity to be here. The only thing I can do for them to say thanks is give everything on the pitch and this is what I am trying to do every day."

Growing in Germany

Diomande has matured in Germany. He has always had a work ethic, a determination to maximise his potential. But life in Germany has taught greater discipline. "First of all, in Germany, there is no life," he says. "The life here is only work. It is work, work and work."

He concedes that it was different at Leganes "because in Spain it is a little bit relaxed" whereas his season in the Bundesliga has brought more demands, a more professional environment that will undoubtedly prepare him better for the next steps in his career.

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"We have everything. We have a structure and the club helps us. It is easy to work." Even if there was the odd issue as he adjusted to German efficiency. Diomande had to get used to the requirement that he must turn up 90 minutes before training even begins.

"I got a lot of fines because I was coming in 'late'. Not five minutes before [training starts] but 30 or 40 minutes before and they would say you are late. Nobody wants to lose money for free like this so I have learned a lot from that discipline," he reveals.

Diomande laughs at the thought but clearly appreciates that this schooling has been to his benefit - in Leipzig and potentially beyond. "It is going to be more easy for me if I go somewhere else where it is more relaxed to get that adaptation quickly," he adds.

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World Cup opportunity

Diomande's immediate priority is a first appearance at the World Cup with Cote d'Ivoire. The nation failed to qualify for the previous two tournaments and was unable to make it beyond the group stage at three World Cups prior to that. But this is an opportunity.

"I want to help my country go as far as possible," says Diomande. The spotlight will be on the teenager, particularly the second group game when Cote d'Ivoire take on Germany in Toronto. "This question is coming all the time. I do not think only about Germany," he insists.

Not even if he is up against Leipzig skipper David Raum? "He is my captain. Sometimes we do speak, 'I am going to kill you' or 'I am going to do this…' But we are still friends. It will be good to play against each other and change jerseys. It is going to be nice."

Future beyond the summer

Diomande is respectful and making the right noises about his future plans beyond the World Cup. "My contract is until 2030 so I have four more years." But everyone knows the deal at Leipzig. They help talent reach the top. That is where Diomande is heading.

Asked where he sees himself in five years, he is initially cautious. "I am not going to say something crazy." But the truth is not so crazy, not really. "I want to be one of the best on the field," he adds. But I want to go slowly, step by step to reach what I want to do."

Diomande might want to go slowly, but as he made clear at the outset, everything is happening fast where he is concerned. It has been an incredible journey already but the reality of his situation is clear. "It is not finished. We have a lot of things to achieve."

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