Liverpool beat Barcelona to the signing of forward Luis Diaz in this year’s January transfer market.
That’s according to current Barca president Joan Laporta. Speaking at a press conference in the Colombian capital of Bogota via journalist Pipe Sierra on Twitter, Laporta claimed that the Catalans were ‘very interested’ in Diaz.
“Liverpool got ahead of us in the signing of Luis Diaz. We were very interested in him, we even got to talk with his agent, but they already had advanced. We were also in an economic restructuring,” said the president.
The Reds eventually won a pretty crowded race for Diaz by moving swiftly at the end of the winter market. Having quickly become a key player at Anfield, he’s been one of the most exciting signings of recent years.
Liverpool win the race for Diaz
It seems as though every top division team in world football were tracking Diaz through last year. That Liverpool were able to convince him to move to Merseyside is credit to the recruitment team.
And what a signing he has been, too. 10 goals in 38 appearances doesn’t tell the whole story of a really impressive first 10 months.
Diaz’s arrival, for an initial £37.5m, breathed new life into Liverpool’s campaign. Had they gone on to win an historic quadruple, his signing would have been seen as the seminal moment of the season.
Instead, settling for just the two trophies will do that legacy no harm, either. We can’t wait to see him back in action after the World Cup.
Liverpool looking to beat January blues again
Whilst also being a brilliant move in itself, Liverpool’s signing of Diaz also debunked the theory that you can’t improve your squad in January.
This is something that Liverpool should know very well already. The arrivals of players such as Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and Virgil Van Dijk have all come mid-season.
But even still, the Reds often seem reticent to do business in the winter.
Following Diaz’s example, that has to change this season. Liverpool are struggling to meet their goals for 2022/23. A big new arrival would surely give them a far better chance of turning that around. Let’s see what happens.
As for Barca, it’s just another example of the Reds stealing a march on their European rivals in the market. You love to see it.
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