Man Utd hierarchy respond to Liverpool's £37.5m deal for Luis Diaz

Manchester United’s hierarchy are ‘bemused’ by suggestions they were beaten to the signing of Luis Diaz by Liverpool and insist they were never in for the Porto star, according to reports.

The Colombia international had been close to joining Tottenham in the final days of the January window but Liverpool have moved quickly to hijack the £37.5million deal – which could eventually rise to £50m.

Jurgen Klopp had earmarked Diaz as a summer target, but Spurs’ move prompted the Merseysiders to bring talks forward and they appear to have gazumped Tottenham.

United were also named as a club who had shown interest in Diaz, with some reports even suggesting they tried to sign the 25-year-old this month.

But, according to the Manchester Evening News, United’s board have been left baffled by suggestions they were ever interested in signing Diaz and have not pursued a deal at any point.

United already have a host of options to play on the left wing, with a player like Diaz way down their list of transfer priorities.

Marcus Rashford, Anthony Elanga and Jadon Sancho all prefer to play on the left and cut inside – just as Diaz does – while Cristiano Ronaldo is still capable of playing there despite becoming more of a centre-forward in recent years.

Although Sancho was originally bought to play on the ring wing, interim boss Ralf Rangnick feels he is better off the left.

The fact that United do not have a permanent manager has also played a role in their transfer activity this month, with the club’s hierarchy reluctant to bring in players – or sell them – until the new boss has been appointed.

United also intend to spend the vast majority of their transfer budget on a central midfielder, which is their priority position now, and would not have had a spare £50m to spend on Diaz.

The Porto star is set to reinforce a Liverpool attack which is entering a state of uncertainty, with Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino all 30 in the summer when they will enter the final year of their contracts.

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