Liverpool are ready to pay Luis Diaz’s release clause to sign the winger from Porto, according to reports in Portugal.
The Reds are among a host of top European clubs chasing the 24-year-old, who has 14 goals and three assists for Porto this season in all competitions.
Liverpool got a closer look at the Colombian during this season’s Champions League group stage, where Diaz had three shots and three key passes in the two Porto defeats.
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It has been reported that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would ideally wait until the summer to pursue the Porto man but AFCON absences and a Covid outbreak might force his hand.
And now A Bola (via Sport Witness) claims that Liverpool are ‘willing to offer €70m fixed for the player’s transfer, to which €10m must be added in bonuses attainable by the Colombian’.
If another club offers €80m in full and Diaz is happy then he ‘will go elsewhere’ with the Reds only offering €70m of the fee up front.
A Bola add that ‘the deal is underway’ with Liverpool after their ‘need became even more acute’ as Sadio Mane and Mo Salah left for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The report from Portugal comes only a day after The Athletic insisted that ‘senior Anfield sources insist Diaz is not on the agenda for January’.
Meanwhile, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has urged Liverpool keep Mane and Roberto Firmino as they remain “integral” to their success.
Robinson told Football Insider: “You have got to freshen your team up but you do not do that by sacrificing two of your best players.
“We have seen Liverpool do that before with [Luis] Suarez and [Philippe] Coutinho. Liverpool fans were devastated when Coutinho left. They went on to rejuvenate their squad and be better for it so there is a case for moving players on.
“However, Mane and Firmino are such an integral part of that team, I think they’d be almost impossible to replace.
“I watched Mane in person against Leicester and even though it was a poor performance, he was still impressive. He is always a threat.”
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