£75m please: European giants plot summer swoop for Liverpool dynamo; Reds may be open to a sale

According to reports from Spain, one of Europe’s most illustrious clubs could be planning to raid Liverpool this summer.

Saturday morning’s print edition of AS claimed (via Paisley Gates) that Barcelona are preparing a move to try and sign Luis Diaz, who the Reds are reportedly open to selling at the right price.

The 27-year-old is deemed to be the ‘dream’ target for Camp Nou sporting director Deco, although the Catalan giants are advised to expect a ‘tough negotiation’ with Anfield chiefs if they make contact over the Colombian forward, who’s valued at £75m by LFC (The Telegraph).

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There seems to be a strong whiff of ‘welcome to silly season’ from this report, if you ask us.

While we’re not surprised that clubs of Barcelona’s stature are interested in a player of Diaz’s quality, it seems farfetched to claim that Liverpool would be willing to sell him this summer after the manner in which he finished the 2023/24 campaign.

The Reds fell away badly after Easter to see their Premier League title hopes peter out, but the Colombian was one of the few players not to let his usual standards drop, often being our liveliest presence in a floundering attack during April in particular.

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Granted, a return of 13 goals in 51 games over the season leaves room for improvement, and ultimately every footballer has their price, but LFC shouldn’t be persuaded into selling important first-team players this summer unless a truly gargantuan offer is tabled.

The last thing Arne Slot needs before he begins his first campaign at Liverpool in August is for the squad’s most prized assets to be cherry-picked by other clubs around Europe.

If the new head coach was paying attention to Diaz’s performances over recent weeks and months, there’s simply no way that he’d sign off on an exit for the 27-year-old. Tough luck, Barcelona.

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