Liverpool finally have new £100m player

While it was most definitely a case of two more points dropped for Liverpool on Monday night at Anfield the tone could have been even more sombre were it not for a moment of magic from Luis Diaz.

As Liverpool were being consistently repelled by Crystal Palace's back five, and having lost Darwin Nunez to a red card for a senseless headbutt on Joachim Andersen in the 57th minute and finding themselves a goal down to Wilfried Zaha's first half sucker punch, Colombian winger Diaz took it upon himself to conjure an equaliser.

The 25-year-old cut in from the left, skipped challenge after challenge from white shirts before rifling an unstoppable effort beyond Vicente Guaita. It gave Anfield a vital lift at a crucial time and provided Liverpool with the energy to attack the game despite their numerical disadvantage. They continued to knock at the door but the winner could not be found.

While a point won't have been part of the plan for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp the performance of his side would normally have been enough to comfortably claim three points. But when the game plan went out of the window early in the second half through the dismissal of Nunez there had to be someone to step forward, and after a subdued first half Diaz displayed his elite credentials and growing stature to be the man to salvage at least something.

Diaz feels like he has been a Liverpool player for a long time, but having only arrived at the club at the very end of the January transfer window from Porto his Liverpool career is barely seven months old.

He has endeared himself to Reds fans through his ability, tenacity and work ethic and looks set to be a fixture of the forward line for years to come, another success that can be ticked off in terms of the recruitment process.

For the most part Liverpool look to add players that have a value and talent ceiling that they have not yet reached, but even by their own standards the soaring reputation and market value of Diaz will have been something of a surprise.

Signed for an initial £37m guaranteed, a fee that could rise to £49m should he hit certain milestones. It has already proven to be a steal by market value terms.

By playing in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, the sixth largest of the European leagues, Diaz's value at Porto already had a ceiling of sorts. But since his arrival at Liverpool his contribution in the biggest league in world football has seen his value jump more than any other player in European football.

Porto had a release clause on Diaz of £67m, but needing the cash before the close of the transfer window to settle short-term debt issues, they accepted a lower deal with Liverpool, who paid €8m immediately to aid Porto's cash flow problems, with Tottenham Hotspur left disappointed after trying to clinch a deal themselves.

But Diaz's transfer value, which focuses on contribution, length of contract, league and other details, now stands as high as £100m according to analysts at the Swiss-based CIES Football Observatory. That represents an increase of £64m on the guaranteed fee that Liverpool paid to acquire his services.

That figure makes him the Liverpool player with the highest transfer value at present, leapfrogging Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah. His value is behind only Manchester City's Phil Foden and Erling Haaland when it comes to the Premier League, according to CIES data.

Growing into the role of being someone who Liverpool can rely upon at crucial times backs up how his value has risen so dramatically.

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