Yan Diomande stalls after international break: 209 minutes for Ivory Coast

The international break has slowed Yan Diomande’s momentum at Real Madrid. Before it, the Ivory Coast winger had been trending upward, to the point that some were already asking for him in the starting XI ahead of Vinicius—though he hasn’t yet delivered the level expected of a player who cost €146m.

Now the key is to regain that rhythm upon his return to the Bernabéu. In the meantime, Diomande kept his minutes with Ivory Coast: in three matches against Cameroon, Somalia and Ghana, he totalled 209 minutes, playing two full games and featuring off the bench in the final stages of the third.

That could reshape Mourinho’s rotation once he’s back. If the right-winger returns on a roll and becomes one of the key pieces, Mundo Deportivo points out it may force tough calls around players like Arda Güler or Vinicius.