Liverpool have moved their summer transfer window plans forward as they have signed Colombian attacker Luis Diaz.
Diaz had his medical in Argentina over the weekend to finalise the deal whilst on international duty.
Liverpool will pay £37.5 million upfront for the player with a further £15 million expected to be paid via add ons.
He will arrive at Liverpool once he has completed international duty with Colombia.
The 25-year-old will sign a five-and-a-half-year contract until 2027 and is expected to be competing for a first team spot straightway.
He will wear the number 23 shirt for the club.
According to several reports Liverpool have beaten Tottenham Hotspur to the player by hijacking their deal with Diaz and also the red side from Merseyside have beaten Manchester United to the signing as their manager Ralf Rangnick expressed a desire to sign him.
This will be why Liverpool moved their plans forward as they did not want to miss out on one of their main targets.
Daniel Levy wanted to report Liverpool’s recruitment staff to owners John Henry and Mike Gordon for how they beat Tottenham to the signing however they were delighted with how their staff went about getting their man according to The Telegraph.
Tottenham Hotspur also were willing to offer more money for the player but Diaz’s entourage effectively told them not to bother as Diaz only wanted to join Liverpool.
Only last summer Liverpool’s neighbours Everton were very close to signing Diaz with then Everton played James Rodriguez supposedly going in the opposite direction but that deal never materialised for either player for unknown reasons.
So now he will be playing in red when it was so nearly the blue of Everton which is a remarkable turn of events.
The Diaz deal which came out of nowhere could also allow Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi to leave with Liverpool willing to listen to permanent offers for the pair as their game time would be even more limited.
This season in all competitions Diaz has played 26 games scored 16 goals and assisted six coming off the back of an impressive summer in the Copa America.
He scored four goals with one being a ludicrous overhead kick against Brazil which caught the eye of footballing fans around the globe.
In 31 appearances for his country he has scored seven goals.
In 2016 Diaz started his professional career with Colombian side Barranquilla then one season after he joined another Colombian side Club Deportivo Popular Junior where he stayed until 2019 before he joined Porto.
Since joining the Portuguese side he has played 125 times for the club scoring 41 goals and assisting 20.
15 of those outings have been in the Champions League so he has proved he has the experience and the talent to perform in Europe’s elite competition with a solo goal against Liverpool’s title rivals Manchester City being the highlight.
Jurgen Klopp has expressed his delight speaking to the clubs website:
“I could not be happier that we’ve been able to get this deal done and bring Luis to Liverpool.
“I have always been a believer in only signing players in January if you would want to sign them in the summer, and that’s very much the case with Luis.
“He is an outstanding player and someone we’ve been tracking for a very long time.
“We believe he has everything needed to fit into our way and adapt to the Premier League, both physically and mentally.
“He is a player who is hungry for success and knows you have to fight to get what you want. He is a fighter, no doubt. He’s a skilful team player who has always the goal in mind.”
He will be competing with Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino for a space in the side and will have to fight his way up that particular pecking order.
However, he is predominantly a left winger so he will be pushing Sadio Mane for his place in the line-up which can only be deemed as a positive as it should push Mane on to improve just like Kostas Tsimikas has done with Andy Robertson this season.
Diaz will be the most rapid of whatever front three Klopp decides to go with though as in the Champions League he has clocked a top speed of 35.5km/h compared to Salah and Mane who have clocked 33.2km/h and 32.3km/h respectively.
At 5ft 10 as well he will be a threat in the air which is necessary due to Alexander-Arnold’s crossing ability which has seen Mane and Diogo Jota score so many headers.
Therefore, it is certainly a signing which Liverpool supporters can get excited about.
When was the last time Liverpool signed a South American in January called Luis?
