Leipzig Signs Bakayoko, Maksimovic and Diomande in Triple-Transfer Blitz
Three in one day. Leipzig has delivered a statement of intent for the new Bundesliga season by signing Belgium winger Johan Bakayoko, Serbia midfielder Andrija Maksimovic, and Ivory Coast youth international Yan Diomande all on the same day.
The 22-year-old Bakayoko’s arrival from PSV Eindhoven was the last of the three announced by Leipzig on Wednesday, following that of the 18-year-old Maksimovic from Red Star Belgrade and Diomande, also 18, from Spanish second-division team Leganés.
All three players signed deals through June 2030, the Bundesliga club said.
Bakayoko, who had also been a target for Bayer Leverkusen, will wear the number 9 at Leipzig.
“We have had Johan Bakayoko on our radar for a couple of years now and have tried to sign him time and again,” Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schafer said. “We’re even happier that he’s chosen to join Leipzig despite many teams vying for his signature.”
Bakayoko helped PSV to back-to-back Dutch league titles with nine goals in 30 league appearances last season, and 12 in 33 the season before.
“With his power, explosiveness, pace and eye for goal, he’ll improve our play down the right wing and has his strengths both on and off the ball,” Schafer said.
Maksimovic made his professional debut aged 16 in Serbia, then Champions League debut and Serbia debut a year later. He has already played eight games for the national team.
