Tottenham Hotspur ‘hesitated’ in their attempts to sign Liverpool newbie Luis Diaz
Talking to BluRadio’s Blog Deportivo (h/t Daily Mail), Luis Manuel Diaz revealed that Tottenham Hotspur hesitated in making a move for his son Luis Diaz, which allowed Liverpool to snap up the winger in January.
Spurs were heavily linked to sign Diaz from Porto in the winter transfer window but lost out to Liverpool in the end as the Reds stole the player from under Tottenham’s noses, given that the north London club were leading the race for the forward.
Diaz’s father confirmed this news as well, saying that it was Spurs’ hesitation in proceedings with negotiations that saw them miss out on signing the former Porto star.
“Tottenham was one. Roma was also left behind in the process. They hesitated a lot and let themselves be caught by Liverpool. Liverpool were faster than them, they needed him and they took him away.”
After missing out on Diaz, Tottenham raided Juventus to complete a double signing of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur. While Bentancur completed a permanent move, Kulusevski joined on a loan deal till the end of next season.
Diaz’s dream club
The failed transfer saga for Diaz was an embarrassment for Spurs, which was further accentuated by the fact that they sent Bentancur an official contract with the now-Liverpool man’s name on top. It just goes to show how confident the London club were in signing Diaz, only to dramatically lose out on the player to arch-rivals Liverpool.
To make things worse, Diaz’s father said that in the midst of all this, the player only wanted to move to an elite club like Liverpool, claiming it was his dream to play for the Reds.
“There were many suitors who wanted Luis’ services, but he had the dream of reaching Liverpool. Because Liverpool are an elite team.”
January was nearly a disaster for Spurs, seeing them miss out on signing their major transfer targets in Luis Diaz and Adama Traore, who moved to Barcelona after lengthy negotiations with Tottenham. In the end, they managed deadline day moves for their new midfield duo from Juventus.
Manager Antonio Conte had been crying out for new faces in the winter transfer window, calling out for quality in his side as he aimed to turn the squad into a team that was capable of competing with the rest of the Premier League elite. The Italian finally had to settle for Kulusevki and Bentancur as reinforcements.
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Diaz meanwhile, went on to make a bright start to life at Liverpool by bagging an assist on debut. Luckily for Conte, his new signings did not have a bad introduction to England either, with the former Juventus pair making a decent impression for Spurs on the weekend.
The Tottenham boss will hope that the summer doesn’t bring any more failed attempts, as he is sure to want more signings ahead of the new season to bolster his options. Conte intends to turn Spurs into world-beaters, and he will require the club to back him with signings that the manager wants.