Liverpool are keeping a close eye on 20-year-old Hoffenheim winger Bazoumana Toure, with scouts from the Premier League giants attending his matches ‘almost every week’, according to a report in Germany.
The Ivory Coast native is a promising left-footed winger whom the Reds view as a long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah, who has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season.
Toure is expected to command a transfer fee of around £34.8million (€40million), according to Sport Bild. His contract at Hoffenheim runs until 2029 and does not include a release clause.
But Liverpool are not the only club monitoring the youngster, with other top Premier League sides including Aston Villa also said to be interested.
Bild claims Liverpool scouts were in attendance when Toure played the full 90 minutes for Ivory Coast in their 1-0 friendly win over Scotland last week. He also scored two goals in three appearances for his national side at AFCON.
The asking price could rise further if Toure impresses at this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with Ivory Coast drawn alongside Germany, Ecuador and minnows Curacao in the group stage.
Hoffenheim’s managing director Andreas Schicker described Toure as ‘a very exciting player, who already possesses very good abilities at his young age and still has enormous potential for development’ upon his signing in February last year.
‘He is a quick, technically strong and dangerous attacking player,’ Schicker added.
Toure began his career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, widely regarded as the biggest club in the country, breaking into the first team during the 2022–23 season.
The following year, Toure signed for Swedish side Hammarby IF and quickly established himself as a regular starter despite being just 18.
He registered nine goals and four assists in 23 appearances, helping Hammarby unexpectedly finish as runners-up in the Swedish league that season.
Last February, after just a year in the Allsvenskan, Toure joined Bundesliga side Hoffenheim for around £12million (€14million) and made an immediate impression. His team-mate Oliver Baumann praised his ‘enormous potential’ after his debut, in which he struck the woodwork.
After Hoffenheim’s victory against Mainz, in which Toure provided both assists, his former team-mate Anton Stach said: ‘You always have to be careful not to overhype such young players. But he brings a tremendous amount to our game, especially with his depth.
‘You can also tell that the opposing players have a lot of respect for his speed. He gives us the opportunities we were lacking earlier in the season.’
Daily Mail Sport understands that while the club have kept a watching brief on Toure, they are also looking at other options ahead of him.
Another player reportedly on Liverpool’s radar is RB Leipzig’s 19-year-old winger Yan Diomande, Toure’s Ivory Coast compatriot.
After joining Leipzig from Leganes last summer, he has quickly established himself as one of the most prolific young players in Germany. His treble in a 6–0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt last December made him the second-youngest player in Bundesliga history to score a hat-trick.
Diomande is expected to command a significantly higher fee, thought to be around £87.3million (€100million). Given he has scored three goals in his first nine caps for Ivory Coast, that figure could similarly rise further following this summer.
