The following Luis Diaz now needs to signal for Liverpool

Liverpool are at a crossroads, and although FSG prefer to play the prudent recreation, the noise round Arne Slot and his capability to steer this struggling aspect again into the ascendancy is intensifying.

Some may view the approaching departure of Mohamed Salah as a superb factor. Salah turns 34 in June, and there is no query that he has plummeted from his normal requirements this season. However Liverpool’s points run far deeper than the poor type of this Premier League all-timer.

Although the Anfield aspect ought to end within the high 4 5 this season, a lot has gone incorrect; a lot wants fixing.

Left winger. Centre-forward. Proper winger. Simply three separate positions that FSG want to contemplate over the approaching months. It goes with out saying that that is going to be a fragile switch window for the Reds to navigate.

£34m goal tells agent he needs Liverpool

With high sources comparable to The Athletic’s David Ornstein confirming that Slot is certainly set to remain, Liverpool want to make sure complete precision in the summertime switch window.

The factor is, it isn’t only one or two impactful additions required, however a number of – and throughout totally different departments at that. With quite a few forwards wanted, Liverpool might have sounded out a probably shrewd buy to interchange Salah whereas leaving the door ajar for additional incomings.

That is based on Sports activities Increase, who consider that Liverpool are in among the many events in Roma winger Matias Soule, albeit with Aston Villa presently main the race. That mentioned, he has had quite a lot of conferences along with his brokers to push for Liverpool and Arsenal to ramp up their curiosity.

Soule, 23, is among the greatest skills in Serie A, and on condition that he would value a pointy switch price of €40m (equating to £34m), this could possibly be one that will see Liverpool substitute Salah with out dropping the capability to strengthen elsewhere.

Soule has additional suitors within the Premier League and overseas, so whereas that is an reasonably priced deal, it is also one which might appeal to vital curiosity over the approaching weeks, so Liverpool should be fast if they’re to land their subsequent Luis Diaz.

Why Soule could possibly be Liverpool’s new Diaz

When Soule broke onto the Serie A scene in 2023/24, it was reported that solely Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia trumped his dribbling and progressive metrics. On this, he set the tone for his electrical type.

He’s extra of a large playmaker than an out-and-out touchline winger, certainly taking part in throughout a spread of roles as he has developed over the previous few years. Snappy and dynamic, he has been praised for his “particular” expertise on the ball by journalist Zach Lowy.

This positional fluidity and pure physicality on the ball actually provides an echo of Diaz when taking part in for Liverpool. There’s a stability to what Soule does, a form of equilibrium between energy and talent and magnificence.

The Colombian’s presence has been missed at Liverpool this season, Cody Gakpo unable to compensate out on the left wing. Whether or not Soule would copy Diaz’s influence on the fitting stays to be seen, however he actually has the roundedness to revive that high quality at Anfield.

Certainly, in Serie A this season, the Roma ahead has six targets (solely lacking two massive probabilities), and equipped 5 assists, creating 5 massive probabilities. He’s crisp on the ball and an underrated lengthy passer, spraying balls ahead with accuracy.

His crosses are crisp, and though he isn’t an unrelenting runner, he picks and chooses his moments to spark his explosiveness, one other parallel with Diaz.

Although this does not fill the left-sided gap Diaz left final summer time when flying out to Munich, Slot might deepen a Liverpool assault that has bordered on threadbare this 12 months, dynamising a right-hand aspect that it reliant on Jeremie Frimpong’s tempo this season – and the way has that gone?

Aston Villa may be thought of frontrunners in the meanwhile, but it surely will not take a lot for the narrative to alter, ought to Liverpool determine to bump Soule up their summer time shortlist.

As beforehand famous, the Argentinian is relatively low-cost, and thus could possibly be a shrewd purchase to interchange Salah with an electric-paced winger, leaving the door open for additional funding.