Luis Diaz could have been lining up against Liverpool had events of January 2022 panned out differently
If Daniel Levy’s plans come to fruition in January 2022, Liverpool’s preparations for Saturday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be significantly different.
Such activity is likely to focus on how Jurgen Klopp’s side will contain the threat of Luis Diaz, as Trent Alexander-Arnold prepares for another crucial test of his defensive ability his.
Instead, Liverpool have Klopp and Pep Lijnders’ intervention to thank, with the Colombian set to be handed his sixth start of the Premier League season in London on Saturday.
Indeed, as Tottenham aimed to iron out the fine details of a swoop for the then Porto wideman, it was while on a mid-season skiing holiday with his wife that Lijnders was given a five-minute warning by the former sporting director Julian Ward that he and Klopp would be tasked with selling the Anfield dream to Diaz.
After speaking to Klopp and Ward with the forward, the Reds assistant manager outlined his vision for improving Diaz’s game and was quick to point out how training with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Alexander-Arnold will ensure the striker continues his explosive form . growth get up
Perhaps most influential in forcing Diaz to abandon talks with Tottenham over a potential £50million move to Anfield was the moment Ward called from the AXA training center and gave the 26-year-old a virtual tour of the Reds. the trophy cabinet of the website and explained his opinion that Diaz digs into the glorious history of the club that bears his name.
Some 18 months after signing on the dotted line, Diaz will be looking to replicate the blistering form he produced on England’s coast in the final months of the 2021/22 campaign, when he quickly complied with Ward’s earlier wishes by assisting with deliveries. The League Cup and FA Cup double for Anfield.
However, a devastating knee ligament injury sustained at Arsenal in October 2022, then recurring mid-season at the Dubai training camp, ended the forward’s chances of building on his early success at Anfield as Liverpool failed to achieve Champions League honours. in his absence. League qualifiers.
However, Diaz has been tasked with leading Liverpool 2.0 this time around and the striker has relished the new responsibility, highlighted by his shrewd decision to follow in the footsteps of Kevin Keegan, Sir Kenny Dalglish and Luis Suarez in history. The No.7 shirt soon after James Milner left.
“I’ve felt a bit more of a reference maybe, down to the way the guys in the squad and the coaching staff tend to treat me now, I guess,” said Diaz earlier this month. “For all that I feel it a little more nowadays, I take it in my stride really and I don’t feel any extra responsibility. I think that is something that we all share equally between us from back to front in this side.
“We have some great players upfront here and so that is a shared responsibility for everyone. We’re all available to the coaching staff for selection, and so whoever is in the side and playing well is going to give their best to help the cause.”
If performances on the field are an adequate indication then Diaz has clearly had no issues in bearing the weight of such extensive Anfield history in the early weeks of the season, having scored in Liverpool’s opening two games before providing the impetus for the impressive comeback at Wolves.
“On a personal front, it has been a good, even excellent start,” added Diaz. “I’ve really picked up of late, really improved after the injury. I think all the work I did throughout the time I was out was good for me.
“I’ve been feeling in a lot better shape. The pre-season went fantastically well – I was feeling really good throughout – and starting off on the right foot was very important for me and for the team as well.
“I’ve chipped in with some goals and I had some good moments in the games too, but I feel that I still have a lot more to offer. And I know that I’m going to offer even more. As a group, the team looks decent too and feels good. I think this year is going to be a much better one for us.”
At a time when the competition for places is at an all-time high with the recent arrivals of Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, Diaz’s has asserted his place as an undroppable component of Liverpool’s new-look attack. And with Tottenham still nursing the pain of Harry Kane’s departure, only Ange Postecoglou knows what he’d give to be able to call on Diaz’s services this weekend.
Now set for his first trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Liverpool, Saturday hands Diaz the opportunity to ensure Levy’s is forever haunted by the ghosts of January 2022.
