Who is Luis Diaz and why is he being linked to Manchester United?
It is not clear who Manchester United’s long-term manager will be but the club is always on the lookout for the best talent across Europe.
At the moment, United do not look likely to make a signing this month, but reports from Portugal suggest a potential summer target has been scouted already.
Who is Luis Diaz?
Portuguese outlet O Jogo claim that United were among the clubs scouting Porto’s Luis Diaz when they faced Famalicão on Sunday.
Diaz played on the left wing and found the back of the net in front of United scouts as his side ran out 3-1 winners.
LEAVE RASHFORD ALONE.
He has 16 goals to his name already this season, as well as laying on six assists for teammates.
That is not bad considering he operates from wide areas and at 25, the Colombian international has more time to improve before he enters his prime.
How much could he cost?
Jornal de Noticias have confirmed that Diaz has an €80 million release (£67 million) clause in his Porto contract.
That said, Porto have a reputation for selling their top talent – they have acknowledged their position in the footballing food chain – so negotiating a deal below that figure is a possibility.
Who else is interested?
It appears that Diaz has plenty of admirers.
United’s Champions League opponents Atletico Madrid were also apparently in attendance at the weekend.
Nimes, Saint-Étienne, Rennes, Real Sociedad and Sassuolo were also there. With all due respect, the budgets of those clubs could not stretch to £67 million.
That also indicates that a deal may be there to be done at a lesser price and he has a contract with Porto which runs until the summer of 2024.
As per SIC Noticias, Tottenham have made a bid of 45 million euros (£37.7 million), which could rise to 55 million euros (£46.1 million) and want an answer within two days.
Liverpool have also been heavily linked, although it seems unlikely that they would pay the release clause either. They will need a replacement for Sadio Mane before too long, with their front three all approaching the final 18 months of their contracts and their primes at the same time.
It would be a coup if United beat Liverpool to Diaz, but we are a long way off that stage yet, with a bid not likely to come until the summer.
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