Liverpool urged to sell ‘headless chicken’ whom Klopp hasn’t ‘got time for’ in brutal £60m putdown

Liverpool have been told they should cash in on Luis Diaz if an appropriate offer arrives after a pundit suggested they could easily sign an upgrade for the same money.

Diaz recently became the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia, with Al Hilal making a bid believed to be worth €50m. Unsurprisingly, it fell below Liverpool’s valuation of the player. After all, they spent more to sign him in the first place just 18 months ago.

The initial claims suggested Liverpool would hold out for a fee more towards €75m, but other sources have insisted they have no intention whatsoever of parting company with a player under contract until 2027.

Since joining the club from Porto, Diaz has scored 11 goals from 47 appearances. Injuries affected his progress last season, but Liverpool showed their faith in him by changing his shirt number to the iconic seven ahead of the new season.

He went on to score in their 4-4 friendly draw with Greuter Furth on Monday after also featuring in their first warm-up match against Karlsruher last Wednesday.

Nevertheless, Liverpool have been advised to listen to offers for Diaz if they can attract a £60m bid, which would give them a profit of around £10m.

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit Frank McAvennie has suggested Liverpool could cash in on the skilful attacker if his Saudi suitors come calling again.

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“For £50m/£60m for him definitely,” McAvennie said when asked if Liverpool may have to accept a bid for Diaz.

“I like Diaz as a player and he looked good the other night [against Karlsruher]. I think he could have a good say in what is happening at Liverpool this year.

“If they can get £60m for him I would take it because I think Jurgen [Klopp] can find a better player for that.”

Pundit believes Diaz would be open to Saudi switch

“I think he has got skill but he was running like a headless chicken sometimes last year,” McAvennie continued. “I do not think Jurgen has got time for that.

“I think he would like it over there [in Saudi Arabia], there would be no pressure and he would be able to showboat a little bit. Whether they keep him or not, I think he would want to go.”

Liverpool are already expecting to lose midfield duo Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Professional League clubs Al Ittihad and Al Ettifaq respectively.

It remains unclear whether Al Hilal will come back in with a new attempt to sign Diaz, though. After all, they are currently focusing on a world-record bid to buy Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain.

Asia’s most successful team have already signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea, Ruben Neves from Wolves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio this summer.