Journalist confirms Liverpool want exciting wonderkid to replace Luis Diaz

Luis Diaz's future at Liverpool has pretty much been mapped out ahead of this summer.

Despite having an impressive campaign this season - delivering 17 goals and five assists - the 28-year-old's inconsistency has left him vulnerable. Rival clubs want him and Liverpool might cash in.

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One of those interested parties appears to be Barcelona, whose sporting director Deco has made it very clear that the Colombian is high up on the Catalan club's list of priorities.

If Diaz were to leave, then his absence would be covered immediately by Cody Gakpo who would relish the opportunity to be given the responsibility of playing as Liverpool's sole left-wing asset.

However, a young talent would be brought in to develop in the background and a 20-year-old wonderkid has been identified as a potential target.

Interest in Fofana is on the back-burner

Liverpool are already known to be fond admirers of Malick Fofana at Lyon after it was revealed earlier this season. The player actually addressed the rumours himself, feeling no doubt flattered and given a significant confidence boost that his career development is moving in the right direction.

But there has been little movement on the transfer link ever since the rumours first came about.

According to Sacha Tavolieri, this because he is not currently at the top of Liverpool's shopping list.

Speaking to Anfield Index, he said: "I can tell you that it's true that Liverpool are interested in Malick Fofana, but at the moment it's not priority case."

Given the reports concerning Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz, it makes plenty of sense that the club's attention is elsewhere for the time being. Other deals are more developed.

Although this does not necessarily mean that the transfer is unlikely to happen at all.

Tavolieri adds that 'Liverpool's current focus is "looking to see Luis Diaz" before making formal strides towards Fofana or similar profiles'.

As such, nothing should be expected until the transfer window opens, and given it's only open for 10 days between June 1 and June 10, a more realistic time-scale might be from July 1.

Diaz is favoured elsewhere and so it is entirely plausible that the Colombian will move on and in doing so, a spot will open up for Fofana to join. Previous reports considered Arsenal to be Liverpool's main rival for the Belgian, which could make things tricky when negotiations eventually heat up.

However, as Premier League winners, a certain allure is added to Liverpool's status as a potential suitor and there should be little hesitation is the green light is received as Lyon would only demand €50m (£42m) for him to move this summer.

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But as mentioned earlier, a lot of business will likely need to be conducted before a potential left-wing protégé is considered and budgetary concerns may well impact whether a deal can take place.

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