Luis Diaz to Barcelona hint dropped by Raphinha

Liverpool have been linked with Barcelona regarding a potential move for Luis Diaz for months.

The Colombian has been eyed for a squad rotation role to help reduce the workload that Hansi Flick is forced to put onto Raphinha and Lamine Yamal - two of the best wingers in world football.

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The Reds have not necessarily been against selling Diaz this summer, but they have focused their efforts on expressing how unwilling they are to sway from their asking price, which is around £70m.

As such, conversations have been taking place, back and forth between the two clubs and now it seems as though Raphinha has taken it upon himself to hint at how the negotiations will conclude.

Diaz's hopes of a move to Spain are dashed

In short, it looks as though Barcelona will look elsewhere instead of signing the 28-year-old.

According to the Spanish website SPORT, Nico Williams at Athletic is admired by Barcelona's players.

In a press conference, Raphinha said: "Any player who comes to join the club is welcome. I think anyone who comes with the mentality of arriving, working hard and striving for the good of the team is very welcome. That's the most important thing, both for me and for the other players."

So far so good right? Nothing to discourage Diaz's chances quite yet. But wait, there's more.

He added: "It is no coincidence that he [Williams] is being considered to play with us in Barcelona, and that he plays in the Spanish national team. He is a player of the highest quality."

As such, it seems as though Williams is the name on everyone's mind right now.

Yamal was already known as a massive fan of Williams' game and it seems as though Diaz will have to look elsewhere if he is to leave Liverpool this summer. The clubs have made up their minds.

Initially, there was reason to be positive about Diaz's hopes, as Williams' deal looked in doubt after a report claimed that Athletic were willing to block the transfer of their homegrown winger because of a disagreement on financial terms, but it seems as though the move will go through eventually.

Of course, the most likely eventuality is that Diaz will remain a Liverpool player next season, despite claims that he is unhappy with the club's contract offers, so things may get a little bit frosty.

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But all eventualities are still very much on the table with 2 months of the summer transfer window still to play out and until a club announcement confirms proceedings, absolutely anything is possible.

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