Liverpool’s transfer setback has provided Arne Slot with an unexpected £75m advantage.

Luis Diaz was rumored to be heading for a Liverpool exit last summer, but the past year has demonstrated why Arne Slot is pleased that didn’t happen.

Luis Diaz might have had other priorities than football last Christmas. After months of turmoil, including the kidnapping of his parents in Colombia and his father’s week-long captivity, spending time with family was undoubtedly his main focus.

However, the holiday season marked a turning point in Diaz’s career at Anfield. As he prepares to celebrate another Christmas, his two goals in Liverpool’s thrilling 6-3 Premier League win at Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday are a reminder of his significant contributions over the past 12 months.

By the time of the Boxing Day trip to Burnley last year, Diaz had scored four goals but hadn’t provided a Premier League assist since the 3-2 defeat at Arsenal in October 2022, when he suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for six months.

That assist drought ended when he set up Diogo Jota for a goal at Turf Moor in a 2-0 victory, sparking a rise in form as Diaz took on more responsibility in the attack, especially after Mohamed Salah’s injury absence during the second half of the season.

Diaz became known for delivering in big matches, scoring against Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premier League, against Arsenal in the FA Cup, and netting a goal at Fulham in the League Cup semi-final second leg, which secured Liverpool’s spot at Wembley.

In the final against Chelsea, Diaz played the full 120 minutes, helping an injury-depleted Liverpool side win the last trophy of Jurgen Klopp’s era.

However, the arrival of a new Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, revived rumors that Diaz might leave in the summer, with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain reportedly showing interest. When Liverpool moved to sign Anthony Gordon from Newcastle, it seemed Diaz’s time at Anfield was coming to an end.

Yet, that didn’t happen. Newcastle abandoned their deal for Gordon, Barcelona faced financial difficulties, and neither Atletico nor PSG were willing to meet Diaz’s £75 million asking price. After playing for Colombia in the Copa America final, where they lost to Argentina, Diaz returned to the AXA Training Centre determined to prove his worth to Slot.

Two goals in a pre-season friendly against Sevilla at Anfield helped Diaz secure a spot in the starting lineup for the new season, as Slot made it clear that Diaz would be in competition with Cody Gakpo for the left-wing position.

With five goals and an assist in the first five Premier League games, including a memorable brace in the 3-0 victory at Manchester United in early September, Diaz was firmly in possession of his role.

Slot later embraced Diaz’s versatility across the front line, which has paid off. Diaz scored as a right-winger in the 3-2 League Cup win at Brighton and then starred as a central attacker in a Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen, scoring his first career hat-trick in a 4-0 victory.

With Jota struggling with injuries and Darwin Nunez out of form, Diaz’s ability to play as a central striker has been a bonus. He also played in this role against Manchester City, Fulham, and Tottenham, with his willingness to drop into midfield drawing praise from captain Virgil van Dijk. His play in the number nine role has even evoked memories of Roberto Firmino.

Diaz, of course, was seeking a kind of revenge in North London after his goal in last season’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham was controversially ruled out by officials despite being confirmed by VAR. That issue was rectified in Sunday’s match.

Given Sadio Mane’s positional shift during the final months of his Liverpool career in 2022, Diaz is not the first winger to be successfully transformed into a potent central attacking force.

“I think it’s good,” says Gakpo of playing with Diaz, who occasionally shifts to the left while Gakpo moves to the center. “Sometimes he comes to the left and I go in the middle, then we switch again. It has been a good dynamic, and we both get in dangerous positions to score.”

“He showed again on Sunday how dangerous he is – in the box with his head, and his second goal I think was a great run and a good finish. I think when we play together, the way we click together is that we go in each other’s positions and going back, trying to make our actions and getting each other in the best possible position to be dangerous.”

With the return of Jota and Slot’s belief he can revive Nunez’s form, Diaz is expected to spend much of the season competing with Gakpo for the left-wing spot.

However, with 11 goals already this season, just two shy of his best-ever tally for Liverpool, Diaz will be crucial to any success under Slot. After all, as his song suggests, Diaz came to Liverpool to score.