Antonio Conte has confirmed that Tottenham were eyeing up a January move for Luis Diaz, only for Liverpool to accelerate their pursuit of 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 netting five times in 21 appearances in all competitions.
Liverpool were not the only team monitoring the Colombian before he moved to Anfield, with Ralf Rangnick admitting that he would have been a player available to Man Utd – but the board blocked the move.
Diaz was also on Spurs’ radar, as Conte explained prior to his side potentially facing the 25-year-old this weekend.
“We knew [Diaz] was a top player. I think [managing director of football Fabio] Paratici tried to see the possibility to sign him, but in the same way, we signed [Dejan] Kulusevski and to see the capacity of this player to come into 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 90min’s brand new podcast, Talking Transfers, with Scott Saunders & Graeme Bailey and Toby Cudworth. This week they are discussing the mounting interest in Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. There’s also updates on the contract situations of Sadio Mane, Reece James, Pep Guardiola & 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 a top player will improve your team and the quality of your squad. If you want to win something, for sure you need players at the top, not medium level players.”
Tottenham are in dire need of an unlikely result against Liverpool on Saturday evening, having slumped to a draw and a defeat against Brentford and Brighton recently.
These results have handed Arsenal the advantage in the top-four race, with the Gunners currently sitting two points ahead of their north London rivals with just four games left to play.
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