Liverpool’s rivals are only going to get stronger after Arne Slot’s dominant debut season in England, guiding his new club toward the Premier League title, and comfortably at that.
But, the Reds have reinforced their defensive flanks with the additions of Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, also signing German playmaker Florian Wirtz for a £100m fee, which could rise to a British-record £116m with add-ons.
However, Darwin Nunez has been mooted for a transfer to Napoli after a campaign which left much to be desired, having started only once in the top flight since Boxing Day.
And now, Luis Diaz’s future on Merseyside has been cast into further doubt, despite Liverpool retorting with an emphatic no when Barcelona came calling a month ago.
The latest on Luis Diaz's Liverpool future
Liverpool will be expecting a fresh approach from Barcelona for Diaz, who, aged 28, is entering the next-to-last year of his contract amid concerns over his £55k-per-week contract.
Furthermore, Bayern Munich have been reported by BILD to have agreed personal terms with the versatile forward, and an official bid is expected to follow.
In 2024/25, Diaz enjoyed his most productive season in a Liverpool shirt, scoring 17 goals and eight assists across all competitions.
Jurgen Klopp praised him as an “incredible talent” after his Reds debut in 2022, and Slot’s coaching has raised his game to an even higher level.
If Diaz does leave – and it would take a significant figure for FSG to acquiesce to his sale – Liverpool would need to sign a replacement to contest with Cody Gakpo on the left wing. And they appear to have lined up their man.
Liverpool plan hijack for Premier League star
As per The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, Liverpool are contemplating a bid for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, although Arsenal are firm favourites to sign the attacking midfielder.
Eze, 27, is of a ‘long-standing interest’ to the Anfield side, and Delaney believes they could act on it if Diaz is sold, as is becoming increasingly likely, should recent developments be anything to go by.
With a £68m release clause in his contract, the Three Lions star certainly wouldn’t come cheap; however, he’s been tracked for a while and might prove the perfect replacement for the noncommittal Diaz.
What Eberechi Eze would bring to Liverpool
Eze isn’t an out-and-out winger; endowed with blistering pace and dynamic physical qualities, he has more often than not been deployed as a mobile number ten, hailed as a “magician” by pundit Micah Richards.
However, with Wirtz already signed and similarly able to shift from wide to central berths with effortless style, Liverpool could score a blinder by reeling the Premier League-proven talent in to contest with the goal-focused Gakpo.
Having scored the winning goal in Palace’s extraordinary FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City in May, Eze certainly has the big-game aura to succeed in Slot’s Liverpool, improving year by year after leaving Queens Park Rangers.
24/25
43 (40)
14
11
23/24
31 (26)
11
6
22/23
40 (30)
10
4
21/22
19 (7)
1
1
20/21
36 (31)
3
6
As per FBref, Eze finished the 2024/25 Premier League campaign ranked among the top 6% of attacking midfielders and wingers for shots taken, the top 11% for shot-creating actions, the top 10% for successful take-ons, and the top 14% for ball recoveries per 90.
How about Diaz? The South American player was more prolific, ranked among the top 4% of positional peers for goals scored per 90, but also the top 18% for shot-creating actions, the top 17% for successful take-ons, and the top 47% for ball recoveries per 90.
Diaz, then, was a tad more reserved in his athletic output. Oh, he has the pace and power and the energy levels, but there’s no denying Eze yields more responsibility in making things happen in the final third, and this could be utilised superbly by Slot at Liverpool.
The vibrant midfielder’s duties as an Eagle have seen him become something greater than his natural ability. He has taken his root qualities and nurtured a growth which has blended all that natural aptitude with a tenacious mentality and a will to see his name scrawled across the headlines.
Described as a “superstar” by analyst Ben Mattinson, the England talent is stepping into his prime, and he proved as such last season. He proved he has the tools to perfectly replace a player such as Diaz. After all, he notched 25 goal contributions across the campaign, as many as his Liverpool counterpart.
But Eze isn’t just a prolific threat, and he’s not all creativity either. Sofascore have recorded that the fleet-footed talent averaged 4.6 ground duels and 1.1 tackles per top-flight fixture, also keeping it crisp with an 82% pass completion rate.
Eze has never demonstrated he can hit the kind of goalscoring numbers Diaz did at Liverpool last year, but then the Colombian has been settled into a fluent and imperious outfit, one of the finest on the continent.
And is such pedantry truly an accurate representation of the respective forwards? Eze, after all, bagged 14 goals across the recent campaign, finishing only three behind the Reds star.
In any case, both are fantastic players, and if Diaz does leave for Germany or Spain, Liverpool could do a lot worse than signing a Premier League sensation in Eze. Saying that, could the Premier League champions do any better?
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