“The quality is there” – Mbappe tells €140m winger how to succeed at Real Madrid

Yan Diomande has had a slow start to life in Madrid, but has been backed to succeed by a star player there.

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One of the big transfer sagas of this summer involved RB Leipzig talent Yan Diomande. After an explosive rise from nowhere to being the star of the Bundesliga, the winger was chased by a number of teams.

Liverpool came closest, and at times they looked like they would get a deal for their dream Mo Salah replacement over the line. But in the end, Real Madrid decided that they wanted the winger, and once that was the case there was only one destination.

But it hasn’t been easy for Diomande since arriving. Jose Mourinho doesn’t yet trust him as a starter, and minutes are hard to come by. He does have one big supporter though – Kylian Mbappe, who has backed the teenager to be a big hit.

Mbappe says Diomande full of promise

“He’s at a stage in his development. Building relationships between the players, as a team, is key. Diomande is part of that right now,” Mbappe said in quotes picked up by Spanish paper AS.

“From his first day at Valdebebas, we saw he has quality. Then people talk a lot during matches, about the €140 million transfer fee and all that. He’s young, only 19, but the quality is there.

“We see it, and he’s already shown he has what it takes. We try to protect him, and all the players in the squad, because ultimately we’re going to need everyone. A season is very long, and if we want to compete for all the titles, we can’t compete with just eleven players.”

His time will come – he’s just got to seize that chance when it does.