Leeds United missed out on the signing of now Liverpool star Luis Diaz according to claims made by Stewart Downing…
What’s the story?
He said: “Diaz has been brilliant. The first thing I look at when a player comes to the Premier League is the physicality. How do they handle all that? But he looks like he likes it. He gets stuck in, he bounces straight back up, he goes again.
“He looks like he’s been here for years. It says a lot about him that he’s been able to do that. A lot of clubs were chasing Diaz – I know Everton, Spurs, Leeds were all looking – but it couldn’t have turned out better for him, I don’t think. He’s got the best move and Liverpool have got a great player.”
Bielsa’s last blunder at Elland Road?
Marcelo Bielsa is, and always will be, a Leeds United icon.
The Argentine took the Whites from the Championship to the riches of the Premier League, and guided the club to an impressive first season back in English football’s top-flight.
His start to the current campaign though, went downhill rapidly, and his departure came amid a torrid run of results that left Leeds staring down the barrel of relegation.
But while on the whole, he got so many things right, missing out on Diaz may go down as final mistake at Elland Road.
The exciting winger joined Liverpool in the January transfer window, and while Diaz choosing the Reds would have been understandable if it was a straight battle, Leeds may have shown a bit more pro-activeness and tried to get a deal as soon as they were left impressed by him.
Instead, they chose not to act on their interest, and Diaz has proven to be a superb signing in his short time at Anfield thus far.
The 31-cap Colombia international was in scintillating form for his former side Porto this season, registering a very impressive 16 goals and six assists in only 29 appearances for the Liga NOS giants.
It was no surprise that he would earn a high-profile move to the Premier League in January, and he has certainly hit the ground running at Anfield, scoring two goals in his first six games for Liverpool.
Now valued at £58.5m by CIES, the 5 foot 10 star has been dubbed a “livewire” and as being “phenomenal” by Portuguese football expert Alex Goncalves – exactly the kind of rave reviews that would have had the Leeds faithful very excited.
Having Diaz and Raphinha line up on the flanks would have been a frightening prospect, but Leeds’ loss is very much Liverpool’s gain.
AND in other news – Leeds must finally offload £15k-p/w outcast who last played at Elland Road in 2018