Liverpool ace Luis Diaz ‘agreed to Tottenham move’ before agent vetoed ‘signed agreement’
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Tottenham had a signed agreement in place with Porto for Liverpool winger Luis Diaz and the player had even agreed personal terms with Spurs before the invention of his agent, according to reports. The Colombian international forward signed a long-term contract with the Reds last weekend in Argentina after Liverpool struck a deal worth an initial £37.5million with the Portuguese giants to snatch Diaz from Spurs’ clutches.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were not expected to do in business in January until Tottenham entered the running for long-term target Diaz.
Once a bid was lodged by the north London club, Liverpool decided to bring forward their summer swoop for the wide man and pursue a January deal.
Thankfully for FSG, the impulsive reaction paid off with Diaz now officially a Liverpool player.
But it now it appears a deal with Tottenham was actually close after all, meaning this was a trademark transfer hijack.
According to The Athletic, Diaz had already agreed personal terms with Tottenham, who had a ‘signed agreement’ in place with Porto.
However, it’s claimed Diaz’s agent was instead vying for his client to join Liverpool and therefore, the move to Tottenham was vetoed.
The representative is understood to have been cautious of the involvement of super-agent Jorge Mendes in the deal with Spurs.
Liverpool on the other hand were not using Mendes as an intermediary which allegedly handed them an advantage.
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Diaz is expected to travel to Merseyside later this week to join up with his new team-mates.
He played the full 90 minutes as Colombia were beaten 1-0 by Argentina in their latest World Cup qualifier.
Barcelona were also thought to be keen on the winger.
Liverpool boss Klopp revealed his delight upon signing Diaz, making it clear it was not an easy deal to get over the line.
“We know Porto is an outstanding club who nurture players in the best possible way and provide a brilliant football education. They are a class club and, I have to say, have been tough negotiators,” he told Liverpool’s website.
“We also have to say thank you to the Colombia FA for being so helpful in allowing us the time to complete this deal. They have a big game on Tuesday and I know as well as anyone how important preparation is for matches, so for them to allow us a few hours to finalise the transfer without impacting their training was greatly appreciated.
“I also must make clear my appreciation to our ownership and football operations team for how they have managed to act so decisively to get this done.
“Luis is a player we believe will make us better now and in the future. He is the player we really wanted and they’ve made it happen, so I am very happy.”
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