Liverpool have reportedly ruled out the prospect of selling Colombian attacker Luis Diaz amid interest from Al-Hilal.
The former Porto man hit the ground running at Anfield upon his arrival midway through the 2021-22 season and immediately became a fan favourite on Merseyside.
Diaz contributed six goals and five assists in his first half-season at the club, helping Liverpool secure an FA Cup and EFL Cup double, as well as a second-placed finish in the Premier League.
However, the 26-year-old was restricted to 21 matches in the 2022-23 season due to a serious knee injury, which rendered him unavailable for six months between October and February.
Diaz quickly found a spot in Jurgen Klopp's starting XI upon his return, though, and he still came up with five goals and three assists from all competitions in the most recent campaign.
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Diaz is not due to become a free agent for another four years, but competition is rife for starts on the left wing at Liverpool, where Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez could also be deployed.
Dominik Szoboszlai is also capable of filling in on the left-hand side of the attack in case of injuries, although the Hungarian is expected to occupy a deeper midfield role for Liverpool.
Hoping to capitalise on the situation and Liverpool's desire to raise funds for another midfielder and defender, Saudi Arabian powerhouses Al-Hilal were rumoured to have been plotting a bid for Diaz this summer.
According to The Athletic, Al-Hilal are willing to pay as much as €50m (£43.4m) to bring Diaz to the Middle East, but Liverpool plan to reject any offers that arrive for the attacker.
The report adds that Klopp considers Diaz fundamental to his plans for the 2023-24 campaign, and the player himself has shown no indication that he wants to leave Liverpool at this point in his career.
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Diaz was recently given Liverpool's number seven jersey for the 2023-24 season, which was vacated after the departure of James Milner and has also been sported by Luis Suarez, Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish.
While Diaz is seemingly off limits, two other Liverpool players in Fabinho and Jordan Henderson are being tipped to head to the Gulf state in the coming weeks.
Fabinho did not make Liverpool's squad for their training camp in Germany, as champions Al-Ittihad remain in discussions over a £40m swoop for the Brazilian.
Meanwhile, Al Ettifaq - who recently appointed Steven Gerrard as their head coach - are working to sign Henderson, who has allegedly given the thumbs-up to a £700,000-a-week contract.
Liverpool play their first pre-season match against German second-tier side Karlsruher SC on Wednesday evening, and Henderson is said to have been left out of the Reds' matchday squad as negotiations continue.
Ben Knapton
