Real Madrid had a blockbuster summer transfer window, bringing in as many as seven players and revamping the squad under Jose Mourinho.
Los Blancos have had two trophyless seasons, and Florentino Perez turned to Mourinho to try to bring silverware back to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Arguably Madrid’s biggest signing this summer, from a price-tag perspective, was the club’s purchase of Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig.
However, his start to the season has been quite sedate, with Mourinho choosing to ease him in rather than throw him in at the deep end.
Diomande responds to €140 million scrutiny
As quoted by El Chiringuito TV, the 19-year-old took to social media following the latest discussion around his €140 million price tag, directly addressing the criticism.
“€140 million,” Diomande wrote, before adding:
“They will always come to criticise us… We just keep going up.”
Yan Diomande had had a sedate start to his Real Madrid career. (Photo by Francisco Macia/Getty Images)
It is a short message, but one that says plenty about the mentality of a teenager carrying expectations that would be difficult for considerably more experienced players to handle.
The fee inevitably changed the conversation around Diomande the moment he arrived at Madrid.
Instead of being treated simply as one of Europe’s most exciting young attackers, every performance is now being judged against the price tag.
The good thing about the Ivorian winger is that he realises the price Madrid paid for him is not something he can control.
Real Madrid need patience with their teenager
The Ivorian has already shown flashes of why Madrid were willing to invest so aggressively in his potential.
Mourinho handed him his first start against Rayo Vallecano, while his performance against Elche offered another glimpse of his versatility.
Diomande assisted Kylian Mbappe while operating from the right before becoming more dangerous after switching to his preferred left side.
Mourinho used Diomande to replace Vinicius against Atletico Madrid. (Photo by Mateo Villalba Sanchez/Getty Images)
He replaced Vinicius Junior early in the second half against Atletico Madrid and showed much more promise than the other attackers while Madrid played with 10 men.
His development will inevitably contain uneven performances. That should be expected from a 19-year-old adapting to Real Madrid, where patience is rarely abundant.
Diomande possesses the pace and directness to give Madrid another one-v-one threat, while his ability to operate on either flank could become especially useful.
Madrid are currently facing a problem where two of their superstars, Mbappe and Vinicius, are suffering a positional overlap, and Diomande can help solve this.
The €140 million figure is not disappearing. It will follow Diomande into every difficult performance and probably every major comparison.
However, it is encouraging to see the teenager have a calm head on his shoulders, and it remains to be seen how he fares in the coming months.
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