What is the AFCON problem worth? Liverpool reportedly face £67m choice

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Liverpool face a tough decision on Luis Diaz, according to reports, but just what is their AFCON problem worth?

Liverpool face a major problem thanks to AFCON this winter. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita will all disappear to the tournament, taking them out of Jurgen Klopp’s options.

Now, there’s cover for Keita. He’s not a guaranteed first-XI player as it is and the Reds have plenty of midfielders. For Salah and Mane, however, it’s an issue.

Liverpool can still put out Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota but that leaves another gap on the wing. Not only is it a gap, it’s a gap left by one of Liverpool’s two top scorers.

We don’t yet know what the players will miss. They’ll certainly be gone for at least two games but it could be more. If it is more, Liverpool have a real problem.

Fabrizio Romano says it’s enough for the Reds to look into the January transfer market. They hope the right player could come along to fix the issue and certain reports claim they’ve found him.

Jornal de Notícias says Liverpool like Porto winger Luis Diaz. Now numerous reports follow that, with CMjornal the latest. They believe the Reds face a decision here.

What is AFCON problem worth to Liverpool?

Per this CMjornal report, Porto want Diaz’s full release clause to let him go in January. That would come to around £67m for Liverpool – a massive fee for a player from the Portuguese Primeira Liga.

Alternatively, Porto could lower that price in the summer. Losing him then wouldn’t disrupt them as much and it tends to be a cheaper market, anyway.

And so if Liverpool want Diaz, they’ve got to decide if they face enough of a problem over AFCON to warrant the extra money. We don’t know how much more it would be – £10m to £20m at a guess – we only know it would be more.

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer here, either, as we don’t know how many games they’ll miss. If it’s two, we imagine Liverpool will try and get by.

But if it’s more – and the Reds maintain their title chase – we can see them justifying an extra outlay. After all, it could end up making the difference when challenging for major trophies.