Liverpool set to sign Díaz as Spurs close on Kulusevski and bid for Bentancur

Liverpool are poised to complete the signing of Luis Díaz from Porto after he completed the first part of his medical in Argentina. They will pay a guaranteed €40m (£33.3m) for the winger plus a possible €20m in add-ons.

A visa application for the Colombia international, who is in Argentina for Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier, is under way and he is ready to sign a five-year contract. Jürgen Klopp is a big admirer of the 25-year-old and Liverpool had planned a summer move but accelerated their pursuit after it became apparent Porto would sell amid interest from Tottenham.

The failure to complete a deal for Díaz is the latest blow to Spurs, who also missed out on Adama Traoré to Barcelona, but they are closing on a deal to sign Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus and are hopeful they will also strike an agreement to bring in Rodrigo Bentancur from the Italian club.

A verbal agreement is in place for Kulusevski to join Spurs on loan with a mandatory summer purchase for about €40m (£33.3m), including add-ons, if Antonio Conte’s side qualify for the Champions League and the Sweden international has made a specified number of appearances.

Tottenham would pay a loan fee of about €5m for Kulusevski, who can play on the wing or as a No 10 and has been more in than out of the starting XI this season. The 21-year-old cost Juventus €35m from Atalanta in January 2020.

Spurs are also working to complete a deal for the midfielder Bentancur and have submitted an offer which would guarantee Juventus €19m, with about €6m in add-ons to follow.

Juventus rejected a similar offer from Aston Villa for the Uruguay international in recent days. They now have Denis Zakaria lined up to join from Borussia Mönchengladbach if Bentancur leaves. The