Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has delivered an update on the future of winger Luis Diaz, who has recently been linked with a potential exit from Anfield.
The 26-year-old joined Liverpool from Porto in January 2022 for an initial £37.5m plus £12.5m in add-ons and quickly became a first-team regular under former boss Jurgen Klopp.
Diaz has scored 24 goals and registered 13 assists in 98 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, including 13 strikes and five assists in 51 games last season.
The Colombia international still has three years remaining on his contract at Anfield, but he has been the subject of transfer speculation throughout this summer.
Recent reports from Spain claimed that Diaz has agreed a five-year deal to join Manchester City, but those rumours have since been quashed.
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Diaz "is a loyal Barcelona fan", says father
However, Barcelona are understood to hold an interest in Diaz, whose father has previously admitted that the winger dreams of representing the Catalan giants at some stage in his career.
"The truth is that I know very little about Barcelona at the moment," Luis Manuel Diaz told Win Sports. "It is true that Luis is a loyal Barcelona fan and it would be his dream to go there.
"So far, I would like to thank Porto and Liverpool for the way they welcomed him and received him. Luis is a player who finds it easy to win over because of the way he is, because of his humility, his work, his dedication, he is a very disciplined player, thank God.
"There would be no problem if Luis came to Barcelona because it is a top team and one of the best in the world."
Despite this, Diaz remains firmly in the first-team plans of Liverpool boss Slot, who has ruled out a summer exit for the winger ahead of the 2024-25 Premier League season.
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Slot confirms Diaz will stay at Liverpool
Speaking at a press conference on Friday ahead of Liverpool's trip to Ipswich Town on Saturday, Slot said: "When I walked in here, there was a screen from Sky Sports and I said, 'The whole day it's talking about football?' So, there is a lot of speculation constantly in this country, that is clear for me.
"So it's not a surprise if I hear you saying there is also [that about] Luis Diaz. Is there any player they don't talk about? A few, OK! His future is with us because I like a lot what I've seen in the last 10 days that he's in and I saw the same last season.
"He's had a big impact on Liverpool seasons and I'm hoping that he has a big impact in the upcoming season as well."
Diaz scored twice in Liverpool's final pre-season friendly of the summer - a 4-1 home win over Sevilla last weekend - and he is in contention to start for the Reds against newly-promoted Ipswich at Portman Road.
Oliver Thomas
