Liverpool news and transfers LIVE: Bradley Barcola decision, Yan Diomande talks, Fernandes move

RB Leipzig forward Yan Diomande looks set to be Ivory Coast's next big star — but he says that is where the similarities with Chelsea legend Didier Drogba stop.

"No, no, no. I have my own, well, my own view of football," he said.

"I don’t model myself after... Drogba is a good player, but he is not the player I model myself after because we have a different way of playing, so... I wouldn’t say Drogba, but he is a great legend, yes.

"You can also see it this way: He is a role model — not for me, but for every player in my country, and I think also for this generation of Africans, for young players."

Jarell Quansah says it was a "really tough" decision to leave Liverpool last summer — but it has paved the way for him to be at the World Cup with England.

"I just knew it was the best thing that I needed for my career, to be playing week in, week out," he said.

"People who know me know I back myself no matter what and I feel like I'm capable of playing at the highest level and I wanted to show that this season.

"To be rewarded being selected for the World Cup is an absolute honor and it's all down to the hard work that I've put in over the past 12 months."

Former Liverpool midfielder Vladimir Smicer says Andoni Iraola must play Florian Wirtz as a number 10, and not off the left, next season.

"At Leverkusen, the team was built for him and he was a free player with wingers on the side and a striker," Smicer told Casinostugan.

"In Liverpool, we were trying to find his best position all season. He was playing right, left, as a striker, and behind the striker.

"If you buy a player for €130 million, you need to put him in his favorite position and build the team around him.

"If you buy Wirtz and play him as a left-winger, you throw that money away. You need to play him in his best position and then change other players.

"If you spend that kind of money on Alexander Isak or Florian Wirtz, you must play them in their best position. That's the hard thing.

"If you play Wirtz as a winger, he will never give you as much. He will still perform, but he's not going to be at his best. So I hope for him and for Germany that they play him in his best position so he can perform.

"I think he was enjoying playing for Liverpool, but of course when he was a left-winger he was just trying to do the job. You don't feel the same confidence or feeling when playing in a different position.

"I just hope Andoni Iraola will find his position. I think his best position is behind the striker. Give him the freedom and it should work. If not, it's going to be tough."

Michael Owen says Rio Ngumoha is a "fearless" young talent, but he has warned that new Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola would be unwise to rely too heavily on him next term.

"His aim should be to continue learning at Liverpool, getting as much game time as possible, getting used to playing in the Premier League, and gaining as much experience as possible," Owen, who was a prodigious young talent himself, told Liverpool.com.

"Learning from senior players and also enjoying your football and being brave, believe in your ability and create and score goals.

"This year, he played probably more than the club would have expected, in my opinion, with Cody Gakpo not performing to his best. With injuries in the wide positions, this enabled Rio to have more game time.

"I have been impressed with him, the way he plays, his fearless nature, but as a club, Liverpool can’t expect to rely on such a young talent to deliver week in week out next season."

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian announced his retirement from playing last month, and he has sent a social media message to Reds fans.

"Hi Reds," he says. "Now that my sporting career has come to the end, what can I say to you all apart from a huge thank you?

"You have given me some of the best memories in my career. That penalty in Istanbul when I had just arrived, and a nickname that will always follow me (referencing Jurgen Klopp's famous Rocky interview).

"The Kop sound, the Premier League, the run of titles and trophies, your incredible Scouse accent. Feeling close to you even during Covid.

"Incredible teammates and the feeling that I will Never Walk Alone because I will always carry you with me."

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