Liverpool could miss out on perfect attacking backup signing as rivals submit "official proposal" worth €45million

Liverpool are set to be left behind in the race to sign Porto winger, Luis Diaz, as Spurs have reportedly made a bid to sign the rapid forward.

Jurgen Klopp has managed to navigate a tricky January fixture list with Sadio Mane and Mo Salah as well.

The German was forced to rely on Takumi Minamino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in attack and the Reds have come through a historically tricky month unscathed and the Liverpool boss will be desperate to see his AFCON stars return to Merseyside.

Naby Keita is due back earlier as Guinea have already been eliminated but the Reds won't be in action until an FA Cup clash with Cardiff City on the 6th of February.

Liverpool look set to miss out on Luis Diaz signature as Spurs pounce

The Reds have appeared to be well-placed to sign the Colombian for several months but if you don't actually make a move you're never actually guaranteed anything and Spurs look to have taken command of the situation.

Dias is out of contract in 2024 and seems as though he's ready for the big step up to the Premier League and has 16 goals and 6 assists as he helps Porto stave off Sporting Lisbon's challenge at the top of the Liga Nos table.

Are Liverpool making a mistake not pursuing Diaz more intensely?

Anfield is a more attractive destination than the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That's fair to say as the Reds are second in the Premier League, in the Carabao Cup semi-final and in the Champions League Round of 16.

Liverpool also need someone like Diaz. So, without overthinking things, signing the winger makes perfect sense and given that he's hotly pursued by Spurs and not Manchester United or the like, I can't imagine he's going to have the most incredible wage demands.

Both Liverpool and Tottenham are quite conservative when it comes to paying new players high wages and for the Reds, Thiago Alcantara is pretty much the only player in the club's history to walk into a contract worth over £200,000/week.

There must be other reasons to explain why Liverpool are passing up on what is a signing that makes perfect sense for a host of reasons.

The most pressing being that Sadio Mane needs cover and competition. Before the Senegal star left to take part at AFCON, he looked jaded and lacked ideas but if he had a player pushing him to be his best.

The former Southampton forward has 10 goals for Liverpool this season so he hasn't been all bad but I think it's just been a case of lacking that final finish in front of goal as we saw against Leicester City.

His approach play and link-up with Andy Robertson on the left flank was generally excellent until the last few games before he was due to leave for AFCON although he was absolutely switched on for the 2-2 Chelsea draw at Stamford Bridge.

If the Reds are ignoring the chance to sign Diaz, that's fine but they better have another option lined up because Mane's career at Anfield may depend on it.