Liverpool COLLAPSE linked back to one controversial agreement

Liverpool have collapsed in several areas this season. One of them can be linked back to a controversial agreement, however.

This season has not gone to plan for Liverpool. The Reds just aren't the team they were last season - not for the first half of last season, anyway.

And a lot of that can be put down to the summer signings. There was a tremendous level of excitement after all Liverpool did, twice breaking their transfer record and spending over £400m on new players.

But the team they've ended up with simply isn't at the level they planned it to be. After all, the Reds mainly looked to boost their attack with all the signings and there's no question that it's not as potent as it was in 2024/25.

So why is that? Well, there are plenty of reasons, of course, but one of them is absolutely clear as day. And it can be put down to one controversial agreement.

The Luis Diaz sale

Liverpool decided to sell Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich in the summer once it became clear he wouldn't renew his contract. That was controversial in of itself - Diaz was vital to the team last season.

But it was even more controversial when Liverpool agreed not to replace the Colombian. They instead promoted Rio Ngumoha to their first-team squad.

That looks like a strange decision at this point given Arne Slot has barely used the youngster. It's felt instead as though Liverpool are simply down one key player on last season.

It's shown up in the stats, too. Everyone has heard Slot complain about an inability to break down a low block in this campaign and that's been the most common defence deployed against Liverpool.

New research by the Athletic shows some insight into that. They've highlighted that the Reds boast the greatest take-on success rate in the Premier League this season.

However, they're only actually eight for attempts and their success rate in the box has collapsed, dropping from 3.0 to 1.9 per 90. That's almost entirely down to Diaz - he had the second-most in the team last season with 0.8 per 90. That's simply disappeared from the squad.

The rest can be down to Mo Salah regressing a bit - though, again, that can be put down to him being the only attack actively looking to dribble in the box. The lack of it coming from the other side makes him an awful lot easier to defend.

That Diaz sale always looked debatable given Liverpool didn't replace him. Now, though, it's at the centre of the team's collapse against a low block and increasingly looks like the wrong move.

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