Who is Luiz Diaz? Liverpool linked with £58m Porto midfielder

Liverpool have been linked with a move for FC Porto midfielder Luis Diaz this month.

The Colombian international is the latest big name attacker rumoured to potentially be moving to Anfield with Mo Salah and Sadio Mane currently away with their respective countries at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Diaz has been starring in the Portuguese Primeira Liga this season and has reportedly caught the eye of several other top clubs across Europe.

Here is everything you need to know about the player and what has been reported:

Who is Luis Diaz?

Luis Diaz is a 25-year old winger/attacking midfielder who plays for FC Porto in the Portuguese Primeira Liga and Champions League.

The current Primeria Liga leaders signed the player from Club Deportivo Popular Junior in his native Colombia in 2019 and he has been in impressive form ever since, making 129 appearances in all competitions and scoring 39 goals.

While with Junior, who signed Diaz from Colombian second tier side Barranquilla Fútbol Club in 2017, he won the Categoría Primera A title in 2018 and 2019, the Copa Colombia in 2017 and the Superliga Colombiana in 2019.

Diaz was also part of the Porto sides who won the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in 2020.

The winger made his senior debut for the Colombian men’s national side against Argentina in 2018 and has gone on to win 31 caps and score seven goals for his country.

At the 2021 Copa America, Diaz won the Golden Boot award with four goals at the tournament as he scored a brace against Peru and one each against Brazil and Argentina.

Diaz has been in incredible form for Porto this season, making 24 appearances and scoring 15 goals across all competitions.

Will Liverpool sign Luis Diaz in the January transfer window?

Multiple sources have linked Luis Diaz with a move to Liverpool but it remains pure speculation at the moment.

The Colombian’s transfer value has been quoted in the region £58 million to £67 million so would almost certainly be amongst the most expensive deals of the window if it was to happen.

Liverpool are currently without the services of top scorer Mo Salah and attacking counterpart Sadio Mane who are both competing for their respective countries at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The fact that both would be away for an extended period, which could last until February 6, has seen Liverpool linked with a number of attacking players including West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and Leeds United’s Raphinha.

According to the bookmakers, Liverpool are the favourites to sign Diaz this month.

SkyBet have the miles ahead of PSG, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund in the market but a price of 4/1 suggests that any deal being completed this month is currently unlikely.

When is Mo Salah back for Liverpool?

Mo Salah will return to Liverpool once the African Cup of Nations is concluded or Egypt are eliminated.

That could be sooner rather than later after the Egyptians lost their opening match of the tournament 1-0 to Nigeria.

They will now face Guinea-Bissau on Saturday, January 15 and a defeat in that match would see them eliminated from the competition at the group stage.

That means that internationally duty would end for the African players after their final group match against Sudan on Wednesday, January 19 and Salah could return to Liverpool in time for their trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday, January 23.

However, Egypt are heavy favourites to beat Guinea-Bissau and will likely also be favourite to win their match with Sudan which would see them safely though to the knockout stages of the competition.

Should Egypt make it all the way to the final, Salah will have missed five matches for Liverpool in total, including two Premier League fixtures.

If his side are eliminated on or before the quarter-finals then it is likely that Liverpool would have Salah available for the FA Cup tie with Cardiff City on February 6.

That match takes place the same day as the final and third place play-off of the AFCON and, although Salah would technically be free if Egypt are eliminated in the semi-finals, it isn’t clear whether Jurgen Klopp would want to risk putting him straight back into the squad so soon.