Liverpool and Bayern Munich are now in advanced talks over a deal for Luis Diaz, who has still travelled with the squad to Japan ahead of their next friendly.
Diaz is expected to join Bayern Munich in the near future after persistent contact from the Bundesliga champions over a deal.
This Is Anfield understands that the two clubs are now in advanced talks over a transfer after dialogued resumed earlier in the week.
Liverpool had previously rejected advances from both Barcelona and Bayern, including a first bid from the latter worth in the region of £59 million.
A deal is now expected to be reached for €75 million (£65.6m).
Diaz was left out of Saturday’s friendly defeat to AC Milan, with Arne Slot confirming post-match his decision was due to doubts over the player’s future.
Despite the expectation being that Diaz will join Bayern, the Colombian was part of the Liverpool squad to fly from Hong Kong to Japan on Sunday.
The imminent transfer would represent a significant profit on the £50 million paid to Porto in January 2022, and comes with the forward entering the final years of his contract.
Turning 29 early next year, there had been initial talks over an extension at Liverpool but it was later communicated that the club would not offer their No. 7 a new deal.
And though he played a key role for Slot during his first season in charge the decision to sell comes – albeit with difficulty – with a sense of realism.
Liverpool have already signed striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth £79 million while it is widely reported that a move for Newcastle‘s Alexander Isak will be pursued if given encouragement.
With Diaz most frequently used as a centre-forward last season – and Rio Ngumoha showing promising signs on the left wing as an alternative to Cody Gakpo – selling him at a profit could resemble smart business.
Diaz joined his teammates for their flight along with Darwin Nunez, who is also subject to speculation over his future amid interest from Saudi Arabia.
While Slot has explained his belief that Nunez will be involved against Yokohama F. Marinos on Wednesday, it remains to be seen if either he or Diaz will be part of the squad at the Nissan Stadium.
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