RB Leipzig supervisory board chairmen Oliver Mintzlaff has commented on the forthcoming transfer saga involving red-hot attacking prospect Yan Diomande. The 19-year-old Ivorian international once again turned in a stunning performance in last night’s Bundesliga victory, easily securing Get German Football News Man-of-the-match honors in the 3-1 win over Union Berlin.
It almost counts as a forgone conclusion that Diomande will depart Saxony this summer. RB head coach Ole Werner essentially conceded that his club will have to start planning to replace the teenage talent when praising Diomande last weekend. Diomande himself recently switched professional representation with a clear aim towards making the leap to a larger club next year.
Oliver Mintzlaff’s advice to RB Leipzig front office
Mintzlaff – who worked as a Leipzig personnel manager for a full decade before finally permanently stepping up to the board permanently in 2024 – spent last night’s game jogging on a pitch side treadmill as part of a club PR event. Afterwards, the 50-year-old spoke to Sky Germany. At present, personnel decisions rest solely with RB sporting director Marcel Schäfer and his staff.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that Mintzlaff doesn’t carry plenty of influence when it comes to the case of Diomande and others. Mintzlaff occasionally even dipped back into an active managerial role after his official promotion. It was Mintzlaff who opted to sack current Bayern Munich board-member-for-sport Max Eberl back in September 2023 due to FCB links and return to personnel work himself.
“I’m on the supervisory board and am not the sporting director,” Mintzlaff told Sky. “But I can say this: If I were the sporting director, I wouldn’t sell this young player [Diomande] who hasn’t even been with us for a full season yet, no matter what price is offered. I believe he’s a player who will continue to develop anyway and will certainly become even more valuable.“
GGFN | Peter Weis
