Luis Diaz will celebrate his third birthday in Liverpool next month and his performance this weekend is a timely reminder that he is just getting started.
With 11 goals and three assists across 23 appearances in all competitions, Diaz is thriving up front under Arne Slot and was the star player in a stunning 6-3 victory at Tottenham Hotspur.
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The Colombian’s minutes-per-goal ratio in the Premier League this season (138 minutes) is higher than in either of Liverpool’s last two and a half campaigns (330 in 2023-24, 249 in 2022-23 and 240 in 2021-22). and Slot is pleased with how he has adapted to the new instructions.
With a stable improvement recorded in recent years, the next logical step is to talk about advanced terms or a contract extension; however, the scenario around Díaz is very low on the list of precedents.
Despite being in the enviable position of dominating the Premier League, Liverpool have a to-do list for the new year. The soon-to-expire contracts of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are under increased scrutiny.
It would seem inexcusable that the club have let the future of three key players run so close to the January 1 cut-off, when they can talk to overseas clubs about possible moves away. There are some mitigating circumstances, including the exit of Slot’s predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, in May.
All three players were nervous about deciding their futures as they awaited clarity after the potentially worrying change of control. Sporting director Richard Hughes also found himself in a difficult situation when he joined Bournemouth during the summer and his main task was to temporarily resolve problems.
Liverpool’s start to the season shows that the club is on the right track. There is no longer a reflection on the sports assignment, but the terms of the contract will be important as all three players have won offers and discussions are ongoing.
Time is also starting to pass for the other players. Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson are under contract until the summer of 2026, then there’s Diaz, whose contract expires in 2027.
With plenty of time to negotiate, it’s easy to see why a solution hasn’t been reached for Diaz, but the longer the standoff lasts, the hotter it will become. For Hughes, this is one more task that the previous regime has fulfilled.
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Over the summer, there was so much talk about interest from Manchester City but both clubs denied those suggestions. Liverpool were adamant they had not received a single approach for Diaz when links to Barcelona intensified. That also suited them as there’s no plan to move him on although if his form and importance to the team continues, it’s normal to expect talks over an extension.
The difficulty from Liverpool’s side, perhaps, will be determining his value and how much to invest in a player now considered to be in his prime. Diaz turns 28 next month so a new deal would take him into his thirties, and the club’s owner, FSG, has been very careful with similar offers in the past for players in their peak years. This summer is likely to be a key point in deciding his future — the two-year mark is usually when clubs either renew a contract or move on a player to maximise possible earnings. Diaz’s contract is the same as when he arrived three years ago but it is heavily incentivised, so his earnings have already been going up each year.
While Slot spent just £10m ($12. 5m) to bring in Federico Chiesa from Juventus, Liverpool spent the least in the last transfer window and have controlled his recruitment for the past few years.
Slot is pleased with Díaz’s attitude and performance. A natural left-back, Diaz works and trains hard and is considered a tactically wise player who has taken into account the sophisticated adjustments required to play in Slot’s forward line. The focus is more on protection and tracking, however, Slot basically worked to get Diaz in the right position so he could make diagonal runs to wonderful effect.
Liverpool have occasionally used him as a centre-forward and his remarkable functionality in that position was accompanied by a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last month. His goals at the weekend also earned him praise, with Van Dijk adding, as reported by the Liverpool Echo: “If you look at the game, he wasn’t a nine. He was playing in the middle, but obviously he was also playing in midfield. “It’s very difficult for defenders not to play. ” back a direct opponent because there is a lot of movement. Lucho once again achieved a feat and that is what we need.
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Diaz’s adventure at Anfield has not been without drama. In October 2022 he suffered a serious knee injury that had him out for six months, then last season he went through a worrying stage when his father was kidnapped in Colombia. Since then, his family has moved to the UK.
In the past, he has been criticized for not scoring enough, creating big chances and playing too much. He is showing a relentless streak this season and his continued durability (he hasn’t missed a Premier League game due to injury in 20 months) means he is a key player. Component of a Liverpool team that is doing well on the field despite all the contractual problems, the new manager and other upheavals that may have destabilized them this season.
(Top photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP Getty Images)