Liverpool

Liverpool

Premier League • England

Electrifying Liverpool attacker joins illustrious teammate on shock Barcelona transfer wish list

Luis Diaz and Mo Salah of Liverpool

Liverpool winger Luis Diaz would be of interest to Barcelona in the summer, as would one of his teammates, according to some speculative claims from Spain.

Diaz is nearing a return from injury for Liverpool, who will benefit when he is back. The left winger has had a positive impact since joining the club from Porto in January 2022. So far, he has scored 10 goals for the club from 38 appearances in all competitions.

Although he hasn’t been able to play since October due to a knee injury, he has built up enough credit to attract Barcelona.

According to claims on Catalunya Radio, Barcelona would consider a move for Diaz as they look to improve their options out wide.

Likewise, fellow Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is supposedly someone who has admirers at Barcelona. After becoming Liverpool’s leading scorer in the Premier League and Champions League, it won’t take too much to work out why.

Whether Barcelona will have a realistic chance of signing either of them is another matter. The La Liga side have struggled with their wage bill in recent years.

Salah and Diaz are both still under healthy contracts with Liverpool. Hence, they would be expensive investments for Barcelona in terms of their transfer fees and salaries.

Barcelona have generally preferred to make free signings in recent years. Obviously, Liverpool would be against sanctioning such deals for Diaz and Salah, who are under contract until 2027 and 2025 respectively.

Barcelona could struggle to sign Liverpool stars

Catalunya Radio has also suggested Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur as an option for Barcelona. Again, they may encounter similar difficulties on that front.

Barcelona’s current wingers are Ousmane Dembele, Ferran Torres, Raphinha and Ansu Fati. Some of them have been facing uncertain futures, so in theory might make way for alternative arrivals.

For example, Fati has been linked with a move to Man Utd. Raphinha might also be at risk of being moved on just one year after leaving Leeds United in a big move.

Even then, it might be difficult for Barcelona to convince Liverpool to sell Diaz or Salah. There have been some questions about whether it was the right decision to reward the latter with a huge contract last year at the expense of losing Sadio Mane, but his goalscoring record indicates how useful he actually still is.

If Liverpool were to lose him, they would have to source their own replacement, even when they have other options like Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo in their squad.

Therefore, any offer from Barcelona for Salah (or Diaz, for that matter) doesn’t seem like something that Liverpool should be entertaining.

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