Tottenham look set to miss out on Luis Diaz with the Porto winger likely to join Premier League rivals Liverpool instead.
Diaz, 25, seemed destined to move to north London after ongoing negotiations with Porto, however Jurgen Klopp didn't want to pass up on his long-term target and, therefore, Liverpool entered the fray.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the Reds have made an offer 'close to £50million' to Porto for the Colombia international. Liverpool didn't plan to make a move this month, but with Spurs holding talks earlier in the week, the Merseyside club saw their hand forced somewhat.
As well as this, the report claims that Diaz prefers a move to Liverpool rather than Tottenham - something that has left Spurs supporters furious.
On the continent, the Portuguese press continue to say that the deal is moving along nicely with £49million reportedly the overall fee for the deal.
But what are Liverpool actually getting with Diaz and are Spurs missing out on someone special?
With this all in mind, football.london has spoken with Portuguese footballing expert Bruna Reis to get the lowdown on the extent of the blow suffered.
Tell me more about the type of player Luis Diaz is and why he is attracting so much interest from the Premier League?
BR: "Luis Diaz is predominantly a winger who features usually on the left-hand side and has brilliant pace with technical ability to dribble past players with ease using his preferred right foot with power and skill.
"As soon as he has the ball, he will just run towards attack and with ease, dribbles past his opponents, and is especially strong on one-vs-one situations.
"Physically he’s an agile player with the ability to coordinate play in short spaces and capable of big changes with speed and utilises his acceleration and power constantly. He has a good eye for empty spaces in order to attack and in offensive transition he becomes a dangerous player using his physical and technical qualities.
"As a Porto fan, he’s simply a joy to watch and creativity is his “middle name”, when he’s on the ball, he’s very unpredictable and will cover the whole pitch and even pick up the ball from his own box if needed. You simply don’t know what he’s going to do and excels at reading the game when it comes to winning second balls.
"He’s obviously showcased all that during Porto’s Champions League appearance this season and last, especially in games against Liverpool and Chelsea amongst other European teams, and as a result has unfortunately led to his move to the Reds.
"In the Portuguese Primeira Liga, he is definitely the breakthrough player this season and currently the second-best scorer in the league on 14 goals in 18 appearances - contributing to five assists along the way as well."
It seems as though Tottenham are going to miss out on this deal. Why do you think he’s opted for Liverpool instead?
BR: "From what the Portuguese press are reporting, the reason Porto chose Liverpool’s offer over Spurs’ was due to the low offer of 10m add ons. Whereas Liverpool offered 15m of add-ons.
"With the Reds playing regular Champions League football, that was a crucial factor that led the Colombian to choose Merseyside over a move to London."
From your perspective, which Premier League player is Diaz most similar to and why?
BR: "He's got the potential to achieve what Mohamed Salah has done in this league, I believe.
"Both have succeeded in Europe outside the Premier League and both have what it takes to make it on the world-class stage consistently."
What he would have brought to Spurs and would he have complimented Son and Kane well?
BR: "Spurs would have definitely benefitted from his move as, aforementioned, he covers most areas on the pitch, and his pace and skills to drive the game forward would have certainly suited Spurs with Harry Kane and Son to be on the receiving end of that."
Fee quoted in the region of £35m initially for LFC rising to around £49m. Do you think that’s a fair deal and how are Porto fans feeling regarding this imminent exit?
BR: "From what I have been reading from our fans this morning, it is definitely not what we had been expecting to see Diaz bought for. €60m is definitely not the fee we would have wanted to see Diaz leave for especially when he still has two years left on his deal.
"For example, we’ve seen other players with the likes of Joao Felix leave for €120m before, I think we were just sort of expecting perhaps not as much as that but just under €100m for him. With only three days left until the window slams shut, Porto are being left without Tecatito Corona (who’s gone on loan to Sevilla) and now Diaz."
