EFL Chairman suggests Liverpool should have signed Nottingham Forest star instead of Luis Diaz

MacAnthony believes the Nottingham Forest attacker would’ve been just as good a fit into Liverpool’s side as Luis Diaz.

The Premier League outfit splashed the cash on Diaz, who they signed from Porto for £50 million. 

Speaking on the Hard Truth podcast, MacAnthony claimed that Johnson is just as talented as the Colombian. 

“I’m happy for Liverpool to spend £50 million on Luis Diaz, you know, great, it’s fine,” said MacAnthony.

“But, I’d have loved them to have spent £28 million on a player in the Championship and then that player had a sell-on clause.

“People always say that English players are too expensive. Well, I’m sorry but for me, the Championship is as good as the Portuguese league.

“Diaz has scored, what, 15 goals and got 10 assists…I could show you a couple of players in the Championship capable of that.

“Brennan Johnson will probably be just as good as this player in the future and he won’t get sold for £52 million, he’ll probably go for around £20 million.”

Johnson has had a breakthrough campaign for Forest, with the club even turning down a record £22 million offer for the player last January.

Brentford were the club most linked with a move for Johnson last month, with Newcastle United also interested. 

However, the club maintained a firm position that the 20-year old will remain with Forest until at least the end of the season.

Johnson has appeared in all 29 of Forest’s league games so far this season, scoring five goals and assisting five more. 

Johnson has played an integral role in the side climbing the table and bringing them into play-off contention. 

Cooper’s side are ninth in the table, with 43 points. The gap to the play-off places is only two points, with three sides above them all level on 45