Antonio Conte has confirmed that Tottenham were thinking of signing Luis Diaz in January, but Liverpool accelerated their search for the winger and signed him instead.
Diaz has been an instant hit in the Premier League, cementing his place in the Reds’ first-team rotation and scoring five times in 21 appearances in all competitions.
Liverpool were not the only team to monitor the Colombian before he moved to Anfield, with Ralf Rangnick admitting he would have been an available player for Man Utd, but the move was blocked by the board.
Diaz was also on the Spurs’ radar, as Conte explained before his team potentially faced the 25-year-old this weekend.
“We knew [Diaz] he was a top player. I think [managing director of football Fabio] Paratici tried to see the possibility of signing him, but in the same way, we signed [Dejan] Kulusevski and see the ability of this player to reach our team, like Rodrigo Bentancur”, he said.
“For us these two signings were very important because the team has improved in quality.
Listen now to the new 90min podcast, Talking Transferscon scott saunders & graeme bailey y Toby Cudworth. This week they are discussing the growing interest in Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. There are also updates on the contract situations of Sadio Mane, Reece James, Pep Guardiola and Kylian Mbappe, and updates on Marcus Rashford’s next moves and Manchester United’s interest in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
“When there is an important player, it is important to try to sign him because you know that a top player will improve your team and the quality of your squad. If you want to win something, surely you need top players, not mid-level players”.
Tottenham are in dire need of an unlikely result against Liverpool on Saturday night, having fallen to a draw and defeat against Brentford and Brighton recently.
These results have given Arsenal the advantage in the race for the top four, with the Gunners currently sitting two points ahead of their north London rivals with just four games to play.
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