Liverpool won’t sacrifice Luis Diaz in order to keep Mo Salah.
That is the view of former attacker and CaughtOffside columnist Stan Collymore, who believes the Reds won’t look to sell Diaz in the summer.
Recent reports, including this one from The Sun, claim Liverpool are considering cashing in on the Columbian to help free up funds before attempting to extend a trio of contracts; Salah’s included.
Will Liverpool sell Luis Diaz to keep Mo Salah?
In addition to Salah’s deal, ensuring Virgil Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold do not also enter their contract’s final year is understandably top of the club’s agenda, but Collymore feels there are other players more deserving of an Anfield exit than Diaz.
“There have been whispers of Luis Diaz being sacrificed by Liverpool so the club can keep Mo Salah out of the clutches of the Saudi Pro League,” he said in an exclusive interview.
“[…] Although Diaz’s numbers aren’t quite at the levels I certainly think there are other players who Liverpool will get rid of before they offload the Columbian.
“Either way though, the club have got to start planning for life with Salah. Although he may not move this summer, he isn’t going to go on forever. The Egyptian is approaching 32 years old, it’s time the club looked to the future.”
It’s no secret — Salah’s Liverpool future is uncertain, especially as he remains the Saudi Pro League’s top summer target, so it’ll be very interesting to see how Liverpool handles negotiations at the end of the season.
However, regardless of whether or not the 2019-20 Premier League winners can convince their number 11 to stick around for a little while longer, one thing is for sure, Diaz has proven he can do it at an elite level so selling him as he reaches his prime seems like a foolish decision.
Since joining the Reds from FC Porto in a deal worth a reported £37 million, Diaz, who has three-and-a-half years left on his contract, has scored 21 goals and registered 13 assists in 82 games in all competitions.