Liverpool’s acquisition of Luis Diaz from FC Porto in January, from the outside at least, looked a stunning opportunistic swoop.
With Tottenham interested in the Colombian international, the Reds moved quickly and efficiently to bring him to Anfield.
His arrival has helped spark extra life in what in truth, looks a near impossible task to rein in Premier League leaders Manchester City.
However, while the signing should provide an immediate bounce, it is one made more with an eye on the future.
Having ushered in an era of dominance during his stint on Merseyside, like the great managers before him, Jurgen Klopp looks to be preparing for the second incarnation of his Liverpool team.
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Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane will likely go down as one of the most consistently electrifying front threes the Premier League has seen.
But with all three 29 and over, and all three out of contract in 2023, there is a growing sense that changes need to arrive in order to see their success sustained.
Diogo Jota’s signing from Wolves in 2020 had already upset the established order, becoming the preferred option through the middle.
And speaking after unveiling Diaz, Jurgen Klopp made it clear how important it was for the Reds to plan for the future amid contract uncertainty.
“It’s really nice to have these kind of options. We constantly prepare for today and for tomorrow as well,” Klopp explained. “That is what our job has to be. The reaction of the players is always that they have to perform at the highest level.
“Players might have plans for their future but a club has to be ready for pretty much all scenarios and that’s what we do between playing games all the time.
“This club is too big to rely on single persons, whether that’s me or a player, and has to be ready for all different scenarios. We feel in a good place at this moment.”
Similarly to Klopp, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher suggested that one of the much vaunted three could move on and the signing of Diaz works as insurance, should that come to pass.
“These are legends of this club and we’ll be talking about them in 20-30 years, that’s how good they’ve been,” Carragher told the ECHO.
“But nothing lasts forever and that’s why Liverpool have done such really good business with Luis Diaz because maybe, who knows, at the end of the season or the year after one of the front three will move on. They’re at that age in football.
“But if you’re another player in that squad, you’ll be absolutely delighted if those players join the other five or six, or whatever it is, in signing new contracts and it bodes well for Liverpool’s future.”
Carragher added: “It could be a turning point but I think the signing isn't just for right now, it’ll be how good Luis Diaz does over the next five or six years.
“Does he eventually break into that so-called front three if you like? Jota’s done that, can Luis Diaz be the next one to do that?”
