Liverpool hijack Tottenham’s Luis Diaz deal with Porto star on verge of £37.5m transfer

Liverpool have hijacked Tottenham’s move for Porto winger Luis Diaz with the Colombian now on the verge of moving to Anfield for an initial £37.5million fee, according to reports.

The 25-year-old emerged as a surprise target for Spurs earlier in the week, with Porto prepared to accept an offer significantly below his €80m (£66.5m) release clause.

Tottenham – who have already been snubbed by Adama Traore this month – had been quietly confident of completing a deal before the transfer window closed, but have now been gazumped.

Portuguese newspaper O Jogo initially broke the news that Diaz would be joining Liverpool on Thursday night, with a host of reports from England confirming the approach on Friday morning.

Liverpool are set to pay £37.5m up front plus a further £12.5m in add-ons, taking the total value of the deal to £50m – a significant reduction on his release clause.

The Merseysiders had intended to make Diaz their top target for the summer window, but Spurs’ approach meant they had to accelerate their interest.

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According to The Athletic, Diaz prefers to join Liverpool over Spurs while there is a clearer spot for him in Jurgen Klopp’s side given that Tottenham already have Son Heung-min in that position.

Liverpool attackers Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will all be 30 this summer, when they enter the final year of their contracts, and Diaz is likely to be a long-term replacement for one of that trio.

Spurs’ bid for Diaz was also believed to have experienced issues due to the involvement