Liverpool signed Diaz over “Europe’s greatest 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 successful on penalties to arrange a quarter-final tie with Aston Villa.

Nonetheless, Liverpool are additionally 15 factors clear on the prime of the Premier League, with Sunday additionally bringing the Carabao Cup ultimate in opposition to Newcastle United.

Whereas it is virtually sure that Liverpool will take pleasure in a trophy-winning season to have fun Slot’s first yr on the helm, change is sure to be afoot this summer time, 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 huge position to assist Liverpool within the centre-forward spot, maybe the precedence place within the switch market this summer time, together with left-back.

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

There’s nothing incorrect with that, after all. 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 recreation. He may need scored an emphatic hat-trick in opposition to 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 yr of his deal, it’s a must to wonder if FSG will really feel it prudent to money in for a reasonably penny whereas they nonetheless can, with Transfermarkt recording Diaz’s present market worth at about £71m.

He is been a positive servant for Liverpool and is all however set to elevate the Premier League in Might. Nonetheless, FSG might 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 greatest participant” over Diaz

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

One which acquired away

The transfers that just about occurred however by no means did. This text is a part of Soccer FanCast’s One That Acquired Away collection.

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 recreation. Mane trumps him on this regard, with his 120-goal return from 269 appearances marking a 0.45 strike common.

Diaz, to make certain, may have made extra of his gifted potential, with reporter Lewis Steele even noting he had been “wasteful and irritating” by 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 Specific – through 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 greatest participant” by the likes of Sky Sports activities journalist Dougie Critchley. Raphinha ebbed and flowed by 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 prime 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers throughout Europe’s prime 5 leagues over the previous one year for targets scored, the highest 8% for assists and the highest 9% for shot-creating actions per 90.

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 question be involved that he might 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 approach to immortalising his identify on probably the most prestigious particular person stage, particularly if Barca do certainly elevate the continental cup, for he has already chalked up 11 targets and 5 assists from his ten seasonal shows.

Although Raphinha has performed nearly all of his profession on the precise, it is curious that he needs to 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.

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