According to Marca, Yan Diomande's performance for the Ivory Coast national team this week further confirms the ability he has shown at Real Madrid since Mourinho made him a starter, reigniting the discussion about competition for forward positions at Real Madrid.
With Vinicius absent, Mourinho found a suitable position for Yan Diomande, primarily on the right wing, where he demonstrated his ability in league matches against Rayo Vallecano and Elche, emerging as one of the standout players.
But the real breakthrough came in the match against Villarreal. Mourinho left Vinicius on the bench; the latter came on in the second half and was eventually sent off, while Yan Diomande was like a sharp knife on the left wing and scored a spectacular goal. He did not leave this position for the next four games, contributing a goal and an assist against Sevilla, and scoring another goal against Racing Santander. During this period, he also played in that area against RB Leipzig, contributing another goal and an assist; while in the recent match against AEK Athens, with Vinicius's return, he moved back to the right wing, had no output, and was substituted in the 67th minute.
Wearing the No. 10 shirt for the national team, Yan Diomande played the full match in Ivory Coast's attack, primarily from the left wing, partnering with Wahy and Pepe. In doing so, he successfully intercepted the ball and assisted one of the team's two goals against Gambia. For the Ivory Coast team, the former RB Leipzig player is a true leader.
Vinicius's four-match suspension allowed Yan Diomande to establish himself in the Brazilian's usual position. However, Vinicius is set to return on Saturday, October 21, at the Bernabéu against Celta de Vigo. This is a moment for Mourinho to make a decision, as he has always believed that Vinicius belongs on the left and Yan Diomande on the right. If both start, this arrangement should normally be maintained. The challenge is that fielding both of them and Mbappe means sacrificing a player in midfield, and Bellingham, Güler, or Bernardo Silva have grown significantly in recent matches.
Mourinho firmly believes that Yan Diomande performs best on the right wing. In fact, he is right-footed, and last season at RB Leipzig, he played significantly more minutes as a right winger (1591 minutes) than on the left (478 minutes). In his natural position, Mourinho can gain more depth because the winger can use his strong dribbling ability to attack the byline and the center-backs. However, when he plays on the left, he tends to combine breakthroughs with cutting inside to find suitable positions for shots with his dominant foot. In fact, he has already scored in that position for Real Madrid, both from open play and from crosses from the right.
Mourinho recently spoke about this topic, and while not wanting to overlook other attacking players, he believes Vinicius is best suited for the left wing. Mourinho stated: "Yan Diomande can play on both wings, Brahim can too, and Endrick is more of a right-winger but can also play on the left. Among all of them, Vinicius is the most accustomed to playing on the left wing."
However, we will have to wait for the match to see if Vinicius retains his place at Real Madrid. The coach trusts him, but just ten days ago, he also made it clear that he would not say who he would start. It is clear that before his suspension, the Portuguese coach had already shown some thoughts when the Brazilian's form declined, and Vinicius now knows that he must fight to win back his place. The club also understands this.