Arne Slot laughs off speculation around Luis Diaz’s future
Luis Diaz has been linked with a move to Barcelona
Arne Slot has dismissed speculation regarding Luis Díaz’s future, asserting that the Liverpool winger can make a significant impact at Anfield this season.
The Colombian international has recently been linked with a move to Barcelona and, earlier this week, was also rumoured to be the subject of a surprise transfer to Manchester City.
However, those claims were swiftly denied by club sources.
Liverpool remain firm that no official approaches for Díaz have been made by any club.
Slot also rejected the notion that the former Porto star could be a high-profile departure before the transfer window closes on August 30.
“When I walked in here the screen had Sky Sports on and the whole day is talking about football,” Slot said in his pre-match press conference to preview Saturday’s Premier League opener at Ipswich Town.
“So there is a lot of speculation constantly in this country.
“That is clear for me. It’s not a surprise if you tell me if there’s something about Luis Diaz.
“Is there any player they don’t talk about?
“His future is with us because I like a lot of what I’ve seen in the last 10 days he’s been in and I saw the same last season.
“So he’s had a big impact on Liverpool seasons and I am hoping he has a big impact on the upcoming season as well.”
Liverpool head to Ipswich with a fully fit squad as Slot faces a key decision on who will lead the attack.
Diogo Jota, who scored a spectacular volley in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Sevilla at Anfield, is competing with Darwin Nunez for the starting role.
Nunez, starting his third season as a Liverpool player this weekend, will need to demonstrate how to best utilise his big-money investment.
Slot added: “We need to bring him as much as we can into the scoring positions.
“But again, I think every individual benefits from a team performance and if we, as a team, can get the attackers, not only Darwin but the others, as much as we can into dangerous positions then these players will score goals.
“That is what we’ve seen in pre-season where we even scored goals out of small situations so it’s up to us to bring him (Nunez) or Diogo as much as we can into promising positions and then he, like the others, will score goals.”
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