Liverpool leap to the front in race to land Luis Diaz

Liverpool are trying to beat Premier League rivals Manchester United and Tottenham to the signing of Porto winger Luis Diaz.

The Reds are looking to push through a transfer which would see them pay an initial £37.5m with a maximum of £12.5m in add-ons for the 25-year-old.

It's understood that the Colombia international was manager Jurgen Klopp's first choice for a summer transfer, but growing interest from other clubs, specifically United, forced them to move early.

Tottenham have also been linked with the player, while United interim manager Ralf Rangnick had expressed a significant interest in bringing the player to Old Trafford and Liverpool responded by bringing forward their plans.

However, there remains a significant number of hurdles to overcome – not least that the player is currently preparing to play for Colombia against Peru on Friday evening.

Liverpool are flying a team out to Argentina – where Colombia's next scheduled match is on Tuesday – to expedite the deal but a medical is already a considerable logistical issue due to the limited time available.

Should the deal come off – and the club remain cautious about that prospect – it would be a huge coup for Julian Ward, who succeeds sporting director Michael Edwards in the summer, as this is the first transfer he has taken the lead on.