Liverpool winger Luis Diaz has snubbed interest from Barcelona in order to begin negotiations with Arsenal, according to reports.
The Reds have been flying in the Premier League this season with Arne Slot’s side only losing one of their 29 Premier League matches so far.
That has put them into a commanding 12-point lead over second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table with Liverpool unlikely to throw it away now.
But there have been a few lingering issues with Slot dealing with speculation over out-of-contract trio Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.
Other players like Diaz, Diogo Jota, Caoimhin Kelleher and Harvey Elliott and others have also been rumoured with potential summer transfers.
And now Diaz could be moving to a Premier League rival with reports in Spain claiming that the Liverpool winger ‘betrays’ Barcelona to ‘negotiate a move’ to Arsenal.
Diaz’s future ‘has taken an unexpected turn’ with the Colombia international choosing ‘to negotiate a move with another European giant’ despite interest from Barcelona.
Arsenal has now ‘set its sights on’ Diaz with his Premier League experience making him ‘an ideal signing for the Gunners’ in the summer transfer window.
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The north London club have now ‘initiated contact with the player’s entourage’ but ‘Liverpool won’t make his exit easy’ and ‘won’t let him go without first securing a quality replacement’.
The report adds:
‘If Salah ends up leaving Liverpool for Saudi Arabia, the club will prioritize the continuity of Luis Diaz , since losing both wingers in the same transfer window would be a very difficult blow to accept.
‘While Arsenal is moving forward with negotiations , FC Barcelona is seeing a signing they had on their agenda slip away . The club saw Luis Diaz as a perfect option to strengthen their attack, but financial difficulties have prevented them from competing with Arsenal’s offer.
‘Barça doesn’t have the salary cap to make large investments, and although the idea of playing in LaLiga was attractive to the Colombian, the reality is that signing him is practically impossible without making significant sales first.
‘Everything points to Luis Diaz ending up wearing the Arsenal shirt next season. The London club is willing to make a financial push to convince Liverpool, while Barca appears to be out of the running.’
Liverpool icon Jan Molby finds Diaz’s situation at Anfield a “bit strange”, he said last month: “The Luis Diaz thing is a bit strange. Is he settled or is he unsettled? We’ve heard quotes from his family and he was looking at Barcelona at one stage.
“I do think the majority of the players will want to stay at Anfield because you know what you’ve got at the club.”
On a potential replacement for Diaz, Molby added: “Anthony Gordon is a terrific player and look at the improvement in his game. At Everton he was good but inconsistent. He went level up at Newcastle and has done really well.
“With his pace and work rate plus consistency would be great. It’d be like bringing him home.
“He’s from the city of Liverpool so it’d be one hell of a deal.”