Luis Diaz development welcome as Slot reveals truth about Liverpool future

This week's Blood Red looks at the form of Luis Diaz and assesses what has prompted the upturn un numbers from the Liverpool winger since the start of the season

Luis Diaz development welcome as Arne Slot reveals truth about Liverpool future

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There have been several theories as to why the in-form Luis Diaz has started this season with such an evident spring in his step. For some, the Liverpool winger is benefitting from a more ruthless streak in front of goal and with five to his name already, the Colombia international is ahead of even Mohamed Salah in the top goalscorers list so far.

Diaz, in fact, has been responsible for a fifth of the 18 goals scored by the Reds so far under Arne Slot and you have to go back to a 2-0 win over Burnley on February 10 for the former Porto star's fifth of last season in the Premier League, which is a clear indication of how much clinical has become of late.

Another claim is that the player himself is benefitting from a tweak in style from Slot and that was something Diaz was keen to talk up in a chat with Sky Sports in the build-up to today's visit to Wolves.

Diaz said: "I think the training sessions are helping a lot, Also, the confidence the coach and the team give you when everyone is playing well and things are going well. I think confidence is really important. But then there is also the hard work I am doing every day on my finishing and my movements.

"The coach always tries to correct the movements you need to make in order to be well-positioned, to arrive in front of the goal better and score more goals. So, that really helps a lot. I think that’s mostly what it’s about, being in the right positions, getting closer to the goal and obviously working on your finishing.”

It was illuminating stuff from a 27-year-old who has not made a habit of speaking to the media since his January 2022 move from Porto and while the change in style and development of a more selfish streak have been important elements to an improvement in numbers, there is also a school of thought that an uncertain future has also contributed.

It's no secret that Liverpool were keen to bring in Anthony Gordon over the summer from Newcastle United. How much that deal was driven by the Magpies' Profit and Sustainability issues in late June is open to debate but there was no denying that the Liverpool-born winger was a player who had - and still has - plenty of admirers at Anfield.

Had things turned out differently and Newcastle had been forced to offload one of their star men, Gordon would be at his boyhood club and Diaz's early-season impact might not have been quite as pointed or pronounced. For context, only Michael Owen and Salah have registered more at this stage of a Premier League term.

Reports that Newcastle are now close to securing Gordon to a new contract should alleviate any lingering concerns Diaz has over the club's hopes of signing the England international to play in his position, but can it simply be a coincidence that the upturn in form and fortunes, particularly in front of goal, have come just a few weeks on from the collapse of that £75m negotiation?

And how much of Diaz's excellent output has also been aided by the fact that speculation around his own future, which came via reported interest from Barcelona, has now also fallen silent? For Slot, the correlation is merely happenstance and the blistering start to the campaign is mainly down to a summer of competitive action with Copa America semi-finalists Colombia.

"Quality players, there is always speculation about very good players and that they might go to other clubs because every club in the world wants these good players, especially top clubs," Slot says when asked about summer interest in Diaz.

"Lucho is one of them, so I am not surprised there was speculation about him but for me there was never any [real] speculation about him. I always thought he would stay with us, I never got another signal than that.

"He had a very good Copa America tournament with Colombia and maybe that helped him as well after a season where he was maybe a bit unlucky, I don't know. He was not unlucky to be playing for Liverpool but maybe in his finishing. But he had a good tournament but he came back in the same way he played in the tournament."

With five goals already, though, what is a realistic return this term? Liverpool's success in recent years was largely driven by the performances of Salah and Sadio Mane in the wide forward positions and those areas at Anfield are now responsible for the lion's share when it comes to numbers of goals as a result. Slot, however, is refusing to keep a figure in mind for what he expects Diaz to contribute.

He adds: "No, I am totally not focused on the amount of goals they have scored, I am only focused on us as a team scoring goals. And even after the games, sometimes I even ask who actually scored. I am hardly ever aware of the top goalscorers list.

"I truly believe in the fact that we as a team score the goals and if you have the quality attackers that we have then we will always find ways to score. So if you bring in Chiesa, Mo, Darwin, Diogo, Cody or Lucho, if you only rely on their qualities then something is wrong.

"We need to rely on the team to create for them and then it is a difference if Cody Gakpo or Lucho Diaz comes into a certain situation than maybe another club you want to name who doesn't have the quality of these players."

Whatever you attribute Diaz's superb start to - and however much you apportion speculation over his and Gordon's future to it - it's a welcome development for Slot that he must now harness for the long term.

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