Liverpool signed Diaz over “Europe’s finest participant”

This week, Arne Slot tasted the primary actually crushing defeat of his Liverpool tenure.

Liverpool are out of the Champions League, with Paris Saint-Germain profitable on penalties to arrange a quarter-final tie with Aston Villa.

Nevertheless, Liverpool are additionally 15 factors clear on the high of the Premier League, with Sunday additionally bringing the Carabao Cup remaining towards Newcastle United.

Whereas it is virtually sure that Liverpool will take pleasure in a trophy-winning season to have fun Slot’s first 12 months on the helm, change is certain to be afoot this summer season, with the likes of Luis Diaz going through an unsure long-term future on Merseyside.

Luis Diaz’s Liverpool future

Diaz is an electric-paced and slippery winger able to inflicting even the sternest of opponents a spate of issues throughout a contest.

Solely final month, pundit Danny Murphy claimed the Colombian has “gone beneath the radar” considerably this season, shifting seamlessly from his most well-liked extensive position to assist Liverpool within the centre-forward spot, maybe the precedence place within the switch market this summer season, together with left-back.

The issue lies in Diaz’s lack of leading edge. Aged 28, time is dwindling for this gifted wideman to ever actually be accepted as world-class as he merely would not have the efficiency in entrance of purpose, actually not in the identical vein as his reverse quantity Mohamed Salah.

There’s nothing incorrect with that, in fact. Salah has scored 32 targets and added 22 assists throughout all competitions this season and is

However deeper evaluation highlights the cracks in Diaz’s sport. He may need scored an emphatic hat-trick towards Bayer Leverkusen within the group stage of the Champions League, however he has blanked throughout all eight of his additional fixtures on the continent.

So with the £55k-per-week expertise about to enter the penultimate 12 months of his deal, it’s important to wonder if FSG will really feel it prudent to money in for a fairly penny whereas they nonetheless can, with Transfermarkt recording Diaz’s present market worth at about £71m.

He is been a high quality servant for Liverpool and is all however set to carry the Premier League in Could. Nevertheless, FSG could really feel a bit rueful when glancing again to his £49m switch from FC Porto in January 2022, for they might have signed a celebrity rivalling Salah for the Ballon d’Or as an alternative.

Liverpool may have signed “Europe’s finest participant” over Diaz

Hindsight is barely good in, effectively, hindsight, however Liverpool’s boardroom executives should be considerably pissed off by their failure to signal one of many season’s superstars again in 2022 all the identical.

Although Diaz has carried out admirably as Sadio Mane‘s inheritor down the left flank, he is solely scored 37 targets throughout 139 matches in a Liverpool shirt, equating to a charge of 0.27 per sport. Mane trumps him on this regard, with his 120-goal return from 269 appearances marking a 0.45 strike common.

Diaz, to make sure, may have made extra of his gifted capability, with reporter Lewis Steele even noting he had been “wasteful and irritating” via phases of his Liverpool profession. It makes the choice to not signal Raphinha in 2022 all of the extra bothersome.

As Liverpool tied up a deal for Diaz, the Every day Categorical – by way of Sky Sports activities – revealed there was real curiosity in Raphinha, then of Leeds United, however issues and monetary obstacles precluded a winter deal.

With a deal for Diaz wrapped up, Liverpool didn’t want the Brazil worldwide as Leeds fell from the Premier League. Arsenal and Chelsea tussled, however it was finally La Blaugrana who demonstrated the strongest pull, signing him for a £55m payment.

Quick ahead three years (virtually) and he is being hailed as “Europe’s finest participant” by the likes of Sky Sports activities journalist Dougie Critchley. Raphinha ebbed and flowed via his opening two years in Spain however has come alive beneath the wing of Hansi Flick.

The information backs such claims up. As per FBref, Raphinha ranks among the many high 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers throughout Europe’s high 5 leagues over the previous 12 months for targets scored, the highest 8% for assists and the highest 9% for shot-creating actions per 90.

Shot-creating actions are items of play that result in a shot. These embody moments similar to a go, take-on or foul being drawn.

Although these metrics are distorted by the 28-year-old’s comparative struggles final season. Now, his 46 purpose involvements in 2024/25 are bettered solely by that man Salah (54), however with Barcelona nonetheless within the Champions League, Liverpool’s talisman will little doubt be involved that he could finally lose out.

Together with Actual Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele of PSG, Raphinha is arguably the most important adversary in Salah’s technique to immortalising his identify on probably the most prestigious particular person stage, particularly if Barca do certainly carry the continental cup, for he has already chalked up 11 targets and 5 assists from his ten seasonal shows.

Although Raphinha has performed the vast majority of his profession on the proper, it is curious that he must be having fun with his most prolific time period but on Barcelona’s left. This bolsters the argument he would have been a sensational signing for the Reds, with such a potent menace easing Salah’s burden and even perhaps making the Egyptian even higher.

It may have been a partnership for the ages. No disrespect to Diaz however he is the identical age as Raphinha and dwarfed in regard to scientific output.

Liverpool missed the mark with this one.