Liverpool
Premier League • England
Shock Barcelona raid for Liverpool ‘killer’ ended by Slot with star coming close to ditching Reds
Arne Slot reportedly convinced Luis Diaz not to exit Liverpool when he was ‘about to leave’ amid Barcelona interest, and he has now become a ‘killer’ who won’t look for the exit.
Diaz netted a hat-trick from centre-forward in a 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen recently. It was the third time he’d scored more than once in a single game this season.
The Colombian is clearly one of Liverpool’s most important assets this season, but it’s thought he was not far from the exit in the summer.
Not knowing how important he’d be under new manager Slot in the summer, amid interest in him from Barcelona, Diaz was reportedly ‘about to leave’ Liverpool, as per Sport.
Slot seemingly convinced him he would be a vital part of his side, so the winger decided to stay.
Since then, the Spanish outlet has suggested Diaz has become a ‘killer’ and it ‘will be difficult to get him’ out the door at Anfield now.
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Liverpool want to tie Diaz down
It is unlikely that Barcelona would have been able to get Diaz given their finances and the fact it’s believed the Reds were after £65million for him.
In the summer, Slot also confirmed that the forward’s future “is with us”, though that could have been after he was convinced to stay.
And it seems that future with Liverpool is set to be extended, with Fabrizio Romano stating the club are ready to offer Diaz a new contract.
TEAMtalk had previously learned that the Colombian was open to renewing his deal on Merseyside.
Liverpool round-up: Reds could lose top target
Top summer midfield target Martin Zubimendi, who turned down Liverpool in the summer, could be taken off the market by Manchester City, who are being tipped to move for him.
Meanwhile, the chances of the Reds keeping Trent Alexander-Arnold are said to be dropping each day.
Fellow superstar Mohamed Salah, who like Alexander-Arnold is out of contract in the summer, has emerged as a target of Paris Saint-Germain, though the forward would seemingly rather stay at Anfield.
Liverpool are also battling with Newcastle for the signing of Sevilla centre-back Loic Bade, despite an acceptance that Virgil van Dijk is nearing a contract renewal.