Liverpool's signing of Luis Diaz last month created a real buzz of excitement for Reds fans.
The deal to sign the 25-year-old from Porto for an initial £36.5m that could rise to £49m was given a big thumbs up, especially given that Liverpool hadn't been expected to do much business in January, the signing of Diaz born from an opportunity that presented itself through Tottenham Hotspur's interest that saw Fenway Sports Group free up the funds to expedite the process that had been expected to be pushed for this coming summer.
Diaz is now a Liverpool player, making his debut in the 3-1 FA Cup fourth round victory over Cardiff City at Anfield on Saturday, emerging as a second half substitute.
That appearance made him the first ever Colombian to play for Liverpool, although the title of the first Colombian to sign for the club belongs to Anderson Arroyo who joined the Reds in 2018 but who has spent all his time out on loan since then, not featuring for the first team.
In Colombia there has been great excitement these past two weeks at Diaz's arrival at a global powerhouse the size of Liverpool.
Diaz is seen as the man who will carry the hopes and dreams of Colombian football internationally now that James Rodriguez's star has begun to lose some of its lustre. Diaz, 25, is a player whose back story has seen Colombian fans take to him and wish him well on his journey, something that could well be of benefit to the Reds moving forward.
British journalist Simon Edwards has been based in Medellin, Colombia, for a number of years covering the game in the South American country for a variety of outlets. He believes much is expected of Diaz.
Speaking to the ECHO, Edwards said: "Colombian fans have been willing him on, particularly given his background, that he is from an indigenous family and had a tough upbringing. He was an underdog and to see him come through and become a superstar for the Colombian national team has been really exciting.
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"With James (Rodriguez), he was a superstar and Colombians respect him, but as always is the case with these guys who are so celebrated there is always a backlash towards that.
" Luis Diaz has been a breath of fresh air. Of course he is marketable but he isn't like a model, he isn't a superstar who is focused on the press and his image, he is someone who is humble and hungry, and I think that is what Colombians have been drawn to. He is a great talent but also someone who is very hard working and very committed and with that underdog story he represents a region of Colombia that often gets overlooked and doesn't get what it needs. He is the ultimate underdog."
Diaz is the second high profile Colombian to arrive on Merseyside in the past two years, with Rodriguez, so long the darling of football in the South American nation for what he achieved with both the national team and on the club scene with the likes of Real Madrid, having moved to Everton in 2020.
Rodriguez's time at Goodison Park was one of occasional brilliance but littered with injury woes and accusations of him not being truly invested in the project. On a huge wage with Everton, his pay packet was seen as an example of the spend without strategy that has ended up making the Toffees hamstrung in the transfer market. He moved to Qatari side Al-Rayyan in September of last year.
Rodriguez was a bona fide superstar, a player whose talent on the pitch manifested into a hugely marketable persona off it. His 48.5m followers on Instagram a testament to that fact.
With Diaz it is different.
Edwards said: "Colombians are really happy to see him at Liverpool. When James moved to Everton the feeling was different.
"People had built up a goodwill with James over the years due to what he had done with the Colombian national team. He was a Colombian superstar going to the biggest league but some here saw it as a step down, rightly or wrongly. Some saw it as a good move, others saw it as a reflection of his decline as a player and a lack of commitment, him failing to make an impact at Real Madrid and Barcelona.
"Luis Diaz is a player who has made enormous progress to get his move. He wasn't even playing professional organised football until he was 18. His progress has been so quick and he is still very raw, but fans are excited as it is a reward for the hard work that he has put in.
"Liverpool is a huge club and there are a lot of Liverpool fans in Colombia and that will only add to that. There will be many more Colombian fans waking up at 6am to watch Luis Diaz in action."
The eyes of Colombian football fans have long been fixed on the Premier League. A Spanish speaking nation, the English top flight faces competition from Spain's La Liga and the draw of historically successful clubs such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, but with Rodriguez now in Qatar the pendulum will likely swing the Premier League's way, helped in no small way by Diaz making the move of a lifetime.
"Luis' arrival at Liverpool has been really impressive," Sebastian Bejarano, a journalist with Colombian radio station Caracol said.
"Without a doubt he is one of the best signings in the history of Colombian soccer players. He is a great player, skilful, fast and with a great mentality, very focused on his performance.
"He will have to lead the generational change in Colombia, but I feel that he is a player more focused on his thinking and this can help him to stay in the elite much longer.
"He was already popular here, I think that now Liverpool is going to be seen by millions of Colombians in all its matches."
Colombia, with a population of around 51m, is a country of huge economic disparity, where wealth and poverty are neighbours.
Making huge commercial strides in a short space of time that would translate into significant revenues isn't too likely, but with the club now becoming the team of choice in Colombia, and with Liverpool having already garnered major appeal in other football-loving South American nations such as Brazil through the presence of the likes of Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino in the team, as well as former heroes such as Uruguay's Luis Suarez, the Reds are becoming a powerhouse in a market that has huge potential in the coming years.
Liverpool's deal with Nike will help them monetise this new relationship with Colombia in much more lucrative way than had they still been with New Balance.
Nike pay a £30m guaranteed sum to the Reds each year, but it is the 20 per cent that the Reds receive on the sale of Nike/Liverpool merchandise globally that is where the true value lies.
Nike have the most retail outlets globally and their direct to consumer online offering is unparalleled in terms of the kind of revenues that it drives globally.
Players don't pay for their own transfer fees through the sale of shirts with their name on the back. That is a fallacy that usually gets pedalled whenever a big name player is on the move, as was seen with Lionel Messi's switch to Paris Saint-Germain last year and Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United.
Liverpool won't make back the £36.5m paid in shirt sales, but it will increase revenue and provide more opportunities for marketing link-ups with firms in Colombia who are keen to associate themselves with not only the next superstar of their football-mad nation, but also one of the world's most iconic football clubs with a global reach that few can match.
Edwards said: "From my house I would say that there are three Nike stores within 10 minutes, to give you an idea.
"There would be no issue in terms of Colombian fans who want to get the original Nike shirt with the printing of Luis Diaz, I'm sure that will happen a lot.
"The fans who can't afford those kind of shirts won't be going to the Nike store, they will be getting versions of them downtown, there will be plenty of those knocking about.
"There will be plenty of teams playing Sunday League football who will be wearing Liverpool kits.
"There are a lot of Liverpool fans already in Colombia and there will be a lot more now that Luis Diaz has signed. In terms of getting hold of a Liverpool shirt, there won't be a problem.
"Colombia is a very unequal society. There will be people who will go out and get the original but people who will buy the fake shirts, but you will see a lot more Liverpool shirts in Colombia now without a doubt."
