Sergio Gonzalez spent five seasons in the Leganes dressing room, the last of them as club captain, before saying goodbye this summer. But nothing in those years quite prepared him for the teenager who arrived from the reserve squad midway through last season - and now, watching Yan Diomande close in on a move to Real Madrid, Gonzalez believes the young Ivorian has license to dream bigger than most of Spain expects.
"If you ask me, he is capable of reaching his level and going beyond," Gonzalez said, in comments carried by Spanish media and relayed by Israeli outlet ONE, when asked whether Diomande could match Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona teenager regarded as the continent's benchmark for young talent. Diomande, he said, can reach Yamal's level "and even surpass him."
It is a bold marker to set. Yamal, also 19, is already a Ballon d'Or contender and the player most of Europe measures its brightest prospects against. Gonzalez is not claiming Diomande has caught up - only that, in his eyes, there is no obvious ceiling on how far the winger can still go.
He traces the realisation back to a behind-closed-doors friendly during a spring international break, when Diomande - only a handful of matches removed from Leganes' reserve side - lined up against the senior squad and scored in a heavy defeat for the first team. From his first touch, Gonzalez has recalled, it was clear something unusual was on the pitch: a player who pairs quick, direct dribbling with real product in front of goal.
Off the field, Gonzalez describes Diomande as shy and unassuming. On it, he is audacious - comfortable attacking with either foot and unfazed by contact. That contrast has followed his rapid rise: a Rangers academy product at 16, a breakout campaign at Leganes, then a big-money move to RB Leipzig last July that has already been overtaken by talk of something far bigger.
Real Madrid are reported to be closing in on a deal worth up to €135 million including add-ons, which would rank among the largest fees ever paid for a teenager. His market valuation has jumped from around €20 million to more than €90 million in barely fifteen months - a trajectory that stands out even by the game's inflated modern standards.
Diomande arrived at this summer's World Cup with rising hype and left with more of it. He played every minute of Ivory Coast's group-stage campaign and was named man of the match in the team's win over Ecuador, completing more dribbles and creating more chances than anyone else on the pitch that day.
For Gonzalez, the real uncertainty is not talent but temperament - whether a player he calls shy by nature can carry the weight of the Real Madrid badge and the scrutiny that comes with it. The transfer has not yet been formally completed by either club, but if it goes through as reported, Madrid are betting the answer is yes.
