Real Madrid have finalised a club-record £115.7m (€135m) deal with RB Leipzig for 19-year-old forward Yan Diomandé, confirming an agreement struck on Wednesday after weeks of negotiation in which Paris Saint-Germain withdrew from the race. The transfer, which makes Diomandé the most expensive African player in history, surpasses the fee Madrid paid Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham in 2023 and comes as the club also work to secure Vinícius Júnior's future amid interest from Arsenal, who are prepared to pay more than £100m for the Brazilian.

Diomandé, who impressed for Côte d'Ivoire at the World Cup after joining Leipzig from Leganés last summer, is set to sign an initial €125m deal plus €10m in add-ons running until 2031, with Leganés due a 5% sell-on fee; he was pictured arriving at Leipzig's pre-season camp in Austria on Wednesday. Vinícius and his representatives held talks with Madrid officials the same day over an improved contract worth around €30m a season, described by Spanish sources as positive, while Arsenal – who have agreed a £75m deal for Bruno Guimarães and missed out on Morgan Rogers to Chelsea – are also exploring alternative attacking targets such as Julián Alvarez and Bradley Barcola.