Liverpool Transfer News: Arne Slot confirms deal for forward is CLOSE

Liverpool are close to agreeing a deal for a forward player.

Negotiations look set to have reached the point of agreement and a deal feels all-but confirmed.

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The Reds's attacking squadron was expected to be put in a state of flux this season, with upgrades made to shake things up a bit and Liverpool have so far delivered on their promise with more to come.

Hugo Ekitike has been signed for £79m and he might have a new-partner join him very soon.

Liverpool close in on deal

The player set to join the Frenchman may well be Alexander Isak, if the club can agree a move for him now that he has announced his intention to leave Newcastle, with Liverpool his favoured club.

But that depends on the Reds finding the money for him and Luis Diaz's impending departure is going to fuel a significant chunk of the budget that could be spent on Isak. His move is now close.

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Not only did the player miss Liverpool's pre-season game against AC Milan on Saturday in Hong Kong, which led to a lot of speculation as to whether it was an injury or something more significant.

But Arne Slot has decided to remove all doubt from the situation, admitting that the discussions taking place about his future are what caused the Dutchman to take him out of the limelight.

In his press conference, he said: "Yes, Luis Diaz was left out today due to speculation on his future."

This is actually quite a pivotal moment in the saga, since Liverpool have been explicitly citing the 'not for sale' line up until now. Barcelona tried to get a deal secured, but the finances didn't make sense for them and we have since seen Bayern Munich interested, but nothing concrete has come out yet.

An initial bid was rejected and it suggested that the club might reluctantly choose to keep him, despite their intention to not offer him a new contract. But at last, we might now have movement.

Paulo Almeida reported on Saturday morning that Luis Diaz was close to joining the German champions for a value of around €85m (£74m) with bonuses included in the overall package.

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Further reports have since been published citing different figures, so there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding this transfer, but the Colombian leaving the Reds now feels like an inevitable eventuality.

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