Liverpool bid for star forward not ruled out | OneFootball

Liverpool are set to complete a lot of transfer business this summer and the budget available for such recruitment is set to be particularly substantial.

This is down to the club being well-managed in terms of its revenue and costs, and limited amounts were spent on transfers over the last couple of seasons, saving up for when the time was right.

Well, this season is where the Reds are likely to cash in on their clever financial management and a whole host of different players are being linked, regardless of how high their price tag may be.

The expected fee for Florian Wirtz is going to break the English transfer record, bringing an end to the penny-pinching transfer stance that many have brandished Liverpool with.

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While unlikely, a move for Rafael Leao isn't off the cards

Liverpool might need a new left-winger this summer if Luis Diaz is sent elsewhere, although the current understanding within the media is that the Colombian is staying.

However, the latest report from Paul Joyce at The Times was polarising and unclear to say the least.

On Wednesday afternoon, he wrote: "Liverpool have received no expressions of interest in Luis Diaz and are not actively looking to sell the Colombian forward.

"Liverpool are understood to be perplexed by the noise once again surrounding Diaz, who became a valuable player for [Arne] Slot with his ability to play through the middle and on the left flank, resulting in 17 goals in 50 appearances.

"That versatility and good form fuelled reports that Diaz, who joined Liverpool from Porto in January 2022, was set for a new contract. However, Liverpool have no plans to open talks with Diaz."

So he's not really for sale and contract talks are permanently stalled for the time being. Bizarre.

Well, it seems here that the keyword from that report is 'actively', suggesting that he could be sold, but the plan is not to move Diaz on this summer.

And it is this type of wording that brings us to the Rafael Leao interest.

The Liverpool ECHO's chief football writer Ian Doyle published article on Wednesday afternoon in response to Italian reports which suggested that the AC Milan winger might be headed to Merseyside.

He wrote: "Liverpool are not considering an imminent move for AC Milan winger Rafael Leao. Reports in Italy claimed this week the Premier League champions have already made contact with Milan over the possibility of a transfer for the 25-year-old.

"It was further stated the Serie A side would be reluctant to sell the Portugal international and had slapped a £109m price tag on the player - the exact amount that Liverpool have offered Bayer Leverkusen for attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.

"However, ECHO understands Liverpool have not made an official approach for Leao and are instead concerting their efforts on completing the deal for Wirtz and progressing interest in Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez."

Again, the key word here seems to be 'imminent' which suggests that while nothing is on the cards quite yet, an approach might be plausible in the future. Furthermore, this does not dismiss the possibility that Liverpool have assessed the player previously and have him on a potential shortlist.

While this might simply be putting two and two together, Luis Diaz might still leave this summer, given we're only five days into the transfer window and Rafael Leao could be a potential replacement as AC Milan are going through a period of flux and Liverpool's interest in him could be escalated.