Liverpool may need to brace themselves for £72m transfer offer as Saudi suitors prepare to pounce | OneFootball

Liverpool chiefs could soon be left to mull over a prospective transfer offer for one player over whom they’ve already issued a hands-off warning.

Last week, The Athletic‘s David Ornstein reported that Barcelona had made an approach for Luis Diaz which was swiftly rebuffed by the Anfield hierarchy, who aren’t ‘actively looking to sell’ the Colombian this summer (Paul Joyce).

The 28-year-old is nonetheless on the wish list of Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal along with Darwin Nunez, and one of their domestic rivals are also lining up an opportunity to pounce for the Reds’ number 7.

(Photo by Gabriel Aponte/Getty Images)

Al-Nassr could offer Liverpool £70m+ for Diaz

On Monday evening, Ben Jacobs took to X with an update involving the Liverpool winger, who’s wanted by Al-Nassr.

The Riyadh-based club are prepared to offer upwards of €85m (£71.6m) for Diaz, despite Anfield chiefs already telling Barcelona that they’ve no intention of selling the player.

Al-Nassr also have Rafael Leao as a ‘concrete target’ this summer, and while it’s ‘unclear’ whether the Portuguese forward would be open to the move, AC Milan ‘could consider a sale’ if they were to be offered €80m (£67.4m).

Liverpool must remain firm with ‘not for sale’ stance on Diaz

Even with Liverpool making their stance on Diaz quite clear, it appears that they can brace themselves for the possibility of a big-money transfer offer for the 28-year-old, whose situation at Anfield seems far from stable.

The player openly admitted in recent days that his agent is ‘talking with other clubs’ during the summer transfer window, and according to Ornstein (via The Athletic), there’s ‘little expectation of a fresh agreement’ over a contract extension, despite the best efforts of Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards thus far.

Even after a season in which the Colombian scored 17 goals in 50 appearances in all competitions (including 28 Premier League starts), his future on Merseyside is riddled with uncertainty, and Al-Nassr have the financial wherewithal to try and take advantage of that.

While Liverpool may sense an opportunty to turn a profit on a player who’ll turn 29 next January and mightn’t be prepared to extend his contract (which runs to 2027), it’d be an enormous gamble to part with their third-highest scorer from the 2024/25 campaign.

Only if FSG were assured of bringing in an instant replacement of similar or superior quality should they give any credence to the idea of taking the money for Diaz, and they must be as firm with Saudi Arabian suitors as they appear to have been with Barcelona.