Luis Diaz‘s future has not been short on speculation throughout the summer, but Arne Slot insists his future remains at Anfield.
The Colombian has been in the headlines since the end of last season, speculation running rampant over whether he would seek a move and the club themselves being open to offers.
He was previously reported to be valued at £75 million amid interest from Barcelona and PSG, and the Catalan giants have remained in the conversation despite their financial difficulties.
But Slot did not entertain any speculation over the future of his No. 7 when speaking to the press on Friday morning – in fact, he was quite emphatic.
He said: “There is a lot of speculation constantly in this country, that is clear for me. So it’s not a surprise for me if I hear you saying that it is also for Luis Diaz.
“Is there any player they don’t talk about?
“His future is with us because I like a lot what I’ve seen in the last 10 days that he’s been in.
“I saw the same last season. He’s had a big impact on Liverpool’s seasons and I’m hoping that he has a big impact in the upcoming season as well.”
Diaz featured just once in pre-season but made a notable impression with his well-taken brace against Sevilla.
A week in the headlines
Despite Slot making it clear where the 27-year-old’s future lies, he is no doubt to be subject to further transfer speculation this month.
Tuesday’s bizarre rumour saw reports in Spain claim he was joining Man City and, understandably, it did not take long for Liverpool and Manchester sources to rebuff the report.
Liverpool journalist David Lynch then maintained that Liverpool remained “open to selling the winger,” with Anthony Gordon the obvious replacement.
But Slot’s words on Friday certainly had a finality to them.
Diaz managed a career-high at Anfield of 13 goals and four assists last season but the hope will be that his new coach can take him to greater heights and see him rediscover his ability to take on the opposition at will.
He is the first choice on the left flank under Slot, and when speaking while on international duty with Colombia in June, Diaz himself insisted he was “very happy” at Anfield.
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