‘All roads lead to Luis Diaz’ read one headline in Catalan paper Sport earlier this year, with the Liverpool star reportedly top of the list of priorities for Barcelona Director of Football Deco. Over the course of the last year, there have been consistent links to the Blaugrana, both from Barcelona and Diaz’s native Colombia.
The crux of the issue is that in the summer, Diaz will have just two years remaining on his Liverpool contract, and there is no certainty that he will extend his deal at Anfield. If it is the case that Liverpool do not tie him down to a new deal, then it would make sense for them to cash in the 28-year-old before next summer.
According to Fabrizio Romano, there have been no advances in terms of contract talks, nor were talks left at an advanced stage for a new deal for Diaz. He explained to the Daily Briefing that there has been no movement on either side of the equation in the last three months. Romano goes on to note that already in January there were enquiries from Saudi Arabian sides, but that Diaz turned down any approach to leave midseason.
In terms of Barcelona’s situation, the Italian transfer journalist details that while there are people at Barcelona who like and appreciate Diaz, it is ‘way too early’ to tell if they will move for him, or indeed will be in a position to do so.
Even last summer, it was reported that Diaz was Deco’s first choice for the left wing position, which he has reportedly made a priority for the summer. Nico Williams was the player they ended up pursuing last year, but if they have the space in their salary limit, Diaz appears to be the number one target. Deco is also keen to bring in a right-back this summer.
If you’re keen to see Diaz in action yourself, that will likely come against Everton in the Merseyside derby. In order to get tickets to the game, find out your options here.
