The new Luis Diaz could be on his way to sign for Liverpool

Liverpool‘s landslide in form last season boiled down to a range of reasons, but when applying the lens of hindsight, it’s clear that FSG probably shouldn’t have sold Luis Diaz and then opted against replacing him.

Cody Gakpo deputised in his place last year, and it had an ill-effect on the fluency of Arne Slot’s outfit, who lacked dynamism and flair in the final third, and who endured a miserable Premier League title defence.

Now, with Slot sacked, FSG are attempting to put things to rights, having already signed Victor Munoz from Osasuna in Spain for £34.5m.

Bradley Barcola is also on the radar, albeit with Bayern seeking £128m for his signature, a record-breaking figure.

How Luis Diaz has become a star after leaving Liverpool

Diaz is a special footballer. He boasts a unique blend of tenacity and technicality, a sort of relentlessness that has propelled him into loftier conversations now that he has left Liverpool and settled into a title-winning unit at Bayern Munich.

Last season, the Colombian scored 26 goals and supplied 23 assists across 51 matches for Die Roten, with Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos lauding him as a “champion” of a player.

Not just potent in the final third, the 29-year-old presses with focus and intensity, aggressive without wasting energy. Sadly, Liverpool simply didn’t have such a profile at their disposal last year, becoming more and more reliant on inexperienced teenager Rio Ngumoha over the latter stages of the campaign.

In fairness, Ngumoha looks like he has the potential to become a superstar, someone who could play a focal role in Liverpool’s frontline over the next few years.

But given the gravity of Liverpool’s situation, the need for an instant facelift at the start of the Iraola era, it’s understandable that Irala should hope for another, more experienced attacker to settle the Anfield side’s attacking system.

Someone Diaz-esque, perhaps.

The new Diaz is keen to join Liverpool

Liverpool built a dynasty atop the labour of completing shrewd, under-the-radar signings. The Reds have signed their share of superstars but they also know how to pick an overlooked talent and develop them into a sensation.

This is why they should not weep over the failed bid to sign RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande, and while they could head down a different track than the road that leads to the £128m-rated Bradley Barcola, and sign emergent Benfica winger Andreas Schjelderup

That’s according to Portuguese outlet A Bola, who have revealed that Schjelderup is keen on leaving Portugal this summer and heading to the Premier League, amid a wave of interest that has crystallised amid his emphatic performances for Norway at the World Cup. Valued at €40m (about £34m), the Norwegian would be a comparatively cheap signing.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Liverpool have plucked an exciting attacking talent from Portugal in recent years. Diaz joined the club from Porto for an initial £37m fee in January 2022, and then raided Benfica, less auspiciously, for Darwin Nunez in 2023. At a total £85m sum, that proved to be the most expensive signing of the Jurgen Klopp era.

Schjelderup is fierce and fleet-footed, albeit with a more touchline-focused approach to wingplay than his counterpart Diaz, whose directness saw Slot shape him into a makeshift centre-forward across the 2024/25 campaign, a gambit which helped Anfield toward the Premier League title.

But Schjelderup, still only 23, has played across a range of central positions during his career so far, bagging seven goal involvements from 15 matches as a true centre-forward. Iraola enjoys versatility in his forwards (look at Antoine Semenyo and Junior Kroupi at Bournemouth), so you can see why he is of a vested interest to the Merseysiders.

At the World Cup, Schjelderup really started to come into his own, and while those of a Three Lions persuasion would argue that his opening goal in their quarter-final tie was something of a fluke, it was a crowning moment for a player whose connection with Erling Haaland throughout the tournament had powered their nation through to the business end.

His efforts for his country have led analyst Filipe Sousa to marvel at his “world-class potential“, mesmerising during that knockout win over Brazil.

Liverpool would love nothing more than to snap up this rising star for a shrewd sum, much like they did with Munoz. He is already proving that he can do it on the big stage, but he may also have enough potential still untapped to become a superstar, like Diaz.

A flashy and electric attacker, Schjelderup is developing into quite the player, and with interest only sure to swell over the coming weeks and months, FSG could make a real power play by snapping him up now, allowing him to realise that Premier League dream.