Liverpool face Luis Diaz transfer decision after training ground whispers over exit

For a forward department that has shared 84 goals between them this season, Liverpool's five-man attack has found itself in the eye of the storm of late.

Questions marks have been raised after a disappointing April that has seen the Reds go from treble-hunting to a team that has little left to play for in the final three games of the campaign aside from pride, ensuring manager Jurgen Klopp is given roaring send-off and the most unlikely and dramatic of collapses from both Arsenal and Manchester City above them.

While Diogo Jota has generally been absolved of the blame game, his fitness issues have been noted and it is fair to ask if he will ever be able to contribute for full campaigns going forward after a difficult couple of years on the injury front, while Darwin Nunez has come under fire for some of his less-than-polished finishing.

Mohamed Salah's touchline spat with Klopp has led to plenty of debate about a player who has endured a tough few months and will turn 32 in June, while Cody Gakpo has scored just one in over two Premier League months.

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For all the debates around the aforementioned quartet, however, it is maybe Luis Diaz whose future at Anfield is most opaque. It's generally been agreed that the Colombia international has been one of a few whose levels have not dipped in recent weeks and the electric winger's all-action efforts have earned plenty of credit of late.

His courage, willingness to work and ability to create have all been on display in spades in recent weeks and the former Porto winger looks like the only player in the frontline who has not suffered a late-season crisis of confidence.

But as a new era is prepared to be ushered in in the form of head coach Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes, who will both be answering to Fenway Sports Group's 'CEO of football' Michael Edwards, then the intrigue around Diaz only continues to grow.

His father, Luis Manuel Diaz, has made little secret of his desire to see his son pitch up at Barcelona at some stage in his career, with soundbites given to media in his Colombian homeland during international breaks.

“The truth is that I know very little about Barcelona at the moment,” Diaz snr told Win Sport back in November. "It is true that Luis is a loyal Barcelona fan and it would be his dream to go there. So far I would like to thank Porto and Liverpool for the way they welcomed him and received him.

"Luis is a player who finds it easy to win [fans] over because of the way he is, because of his humility, his work, his dedication. He is a very disciplined player, thank God. There would be no problem if Luis came to Barcelona because it is a top team and one of the best in the world.”

Speaking in March, Diaz's father said: "There was never anything serious with Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid. Liverpool were always more determined and concrete to sign Luis. We haven’t lost our hope yet…Luis is playing well and Spanish clubs are always active in the market."

As a South American star, it makes sense that Diaz would have designs on one day representing the 'big two' in Barcelona or Real Madrid but it is Paris Saint-Germain who have been most regularly linked in recent months.

Diaz's agents, the Colombian-based representative Carlos van Strahalen and his Portuguese intermediary Raul Pais da Costa, were both credited with helping the winger choose Liverpool over a more advanced overture from Tottenham at the end of January 2022 and while there will be few regrets over that decision, it's thought that the wideman remains one of the lowest-paid players in the squad having not signed new terms since joining from Porto in a deal worth an initial £37m.

Now with just two years left on his contract at Liverpool, it will be interesting to see what the new regime does where the 27-year-old is concerned. With Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold all heading down to the final year of their own respective terms, Diaz will likely find himself towards the back of a lengthy queue when it comes to talks over a renewal.

There is also the issue over whether or not Edwards and Hughes will believe Diaz's output to be deserving of increased terms or whether it is better to wait and see how the coming season pans out, which will only see his value continue to decrease the further along the contract he gets.

There are even some around the AXA Training Centre who have openly discussed the prospect of losing Diaz this summer. While expectation of an imminent sale has never been explicitly detailed, it would be disingenuous to suggest Liverpool have not at least contemplated it and the football operations team will have a plan for such an eventuality.

Diaz was tenuously linked to a move to Saudi Pro League last summer while it is Champions League semi-finalists PSG who have been credited with interest more recently, with Kylian Mbappe looks set to leave as a free agent. Should that reported interest really solidify in the coming months, then the decision over Diaz may not be an easy one to reach.