Liverpool have hijacked Tottenham’s move for Porto star Luis Diaz with the player now on the verge of moving to Anfield for an initial £37.5m fee, according to reports.
Luis Diaz emerged as a surprise target for Tottenham earlier in the week, with Porto ready to accept an offer significantly below his £66.5m release clause.
Tottenham – who have been snubbed by Adama Traore this month – had been quietly confident of completing a deal before the January transfer window closed, but have now been gazumped.
Portuguese newspaper O Jogo initially broke the news that Diaz would be joining Liverpool on Thursday, with a number of reports from England confirming the approach on Friday morning.
Liverpool are set to pay £37.5m up front plus another £12.5m in add-ons, taking the total value of the deal to £50m – a huge reduction on his release clause.
The Reds had intended to make Diaz their top target for the summer window, but Spurs’ approach meant they had to accelerate their interest.
According to The Athletic, Diaz wants to join Liverpool over Spurs while there is a clearer spot for him in Jurgen Klopp’s side given that Tottenham already have Son Heung-min in his position.
Liverpool forwards Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will all be 30 this summer, when they enter the last year of their contracts, and Diaz is likely to be a long-term replacement for one of that trio.
Tottenham’s bid for Diaz was also believed to have experienced issues due to the involvement of agent Jorge Mendes in facilitating the deal, with the winger’s representatives unhappy with his intervention.
Losing out on Diaz represents a blow to Tottenham, who have also missed out on signing Traore, and they are still waiting to make their first January signing with just a few days of the window left.
Diaz has scored 14 goals and laid on four assists in just 18 games in the Portuguese league this campaign, also netting twice in the UEFA Champions League.
