With Luis Diaz staying at Liverpool amid interest from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, the club are now set to offer their No. 7 a new long-term contract.
Diaz attracted interest from two of Europe’s biggest clubs over the summer, with Barcelona particularly keen as they sought to strengthen out wide.
But having returned from Copa America for the final stages of pre-season, it was quickly made clear that Arne Slot viewed the 27-year-old as a key player.
That has been vindicated by a blistering start in which Diaz has scored three goals and assisted another in three appearances – keeping Cody Gakpo out of the side.
Now, This Is Anfield understands Liverpool are set to open talks over a new deal with the winger, reflecting his prominent role since joining from Porto in 2022.
When Diaz arrived at Anfield in a deal worth up to £50 million, it was somewhat dubiously claimed that he would earn a wage of just £55,000 per week.
That would be remarkably low in the context of the Liverpool squad, with their highest earner currently Mohamed Salah at £350,000 per week and their latest signing Federico Chiesa claimed to be on around £120,000 per week.
In reality, Diaz’s earnings are likely to be much higher, especially when considering performance-based increases.
Diaz’s current deal is set to expire in 2027 – along with eight other members of Slot’s first-team squad – and the club will look to avoid any issues similar to this summer with Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
It has long been their ethos that players join on typically low contracts with performances incentivised with improved deals in the future.
Having now made 101 appearances for the club, with 27 goals and 14 assists, Diaz has already proven his value to the Reds and is now translating that to a new system.
The arrival of Slot appears to have given new energy to a number of players – the Colombian included – with Salah admitting after Sunday’s 3-0 win over Man United that he was out of his “comfort zone” again.
“It’s quite tricky to say, but we had Jurgen for seven years, so you kind of get in your comfort zone somehow,” Salah told Sky Sports.
“He was always trying to push us outside our comfort zone, but you know, if you are with a manager for seven years somehow you get into your comfort zone.
“But with a new manager, he comes with his style and he just wants everybody to adapt.”
