The agent of one Liverpool player has been accused of stoking ‘wild speculation’ surrounding their client in the transfer market.
Earlier this week, Spanish outlet El Chiringuito made the shock claim that Manchester City had agreed a five-year deal to sign Luis Diaz for around €70m (£60m), but Arne Slot was adamant in his press conference on Friday that the Colombian won’t be leaving Anfield any time soon.
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Speaking on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Pete O’Rourke dismissed the rumour as a ‘non-starter’ considering the two clubs involved, describing it as nothing more than ‘wild speculation’.
The bombshell transfer link was deemed to be a move from the 27-year-old’s agent to either help broker a new Liverpool deal for the forward, or to tout interest from other clubs. The report goes on to claim that the Reds may be open to selling him if a £50m+ offer is tabled, but not to a direct rival in Man City.
There might have been plenty of crossover between Liverpool and Man City in the past (Robbie Fowler, David James, Nicolas Anelka, Steve McManaman, Didi Hamann), but not since Raheem Sterling went one way and James Milner the other in 2015 have the clubs had any direct dealings (even the latter was on a free transfer).
With the two teams facing off in several title races over the past decade, the chances of either of them selling a key player to their rivals are fanciful at best in this era, and O’Rourke was right to dismiss the Diaz links as a ‘non-starter’.
Could you imagine Pep Guardiola or the Etihad Stadium hierarchy agreeing to sell someone like Jack Grealish, Phil Foden or Erling Haaland to us? Exactly.
We can safely say that, whatever the immediate future might hold for Liverpool’s number 7, it won’t involve a transfer directly to the Premier League champions.