An IRRESISTIBLE Luis Diaz offer puts Liverpool in a difficult position

Liverpool are expected to be decisive in the transfer market this summer, for better or worse.

The Premier League trophy may be on its way to Anfield this season, but it's clear that certain players have been carried along the way and the Reds' cannot afford to employ passengers.

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Darwin Nunez, for example, has run out of rope with the senior Liverpool management team as well as the fans - his future is firmly in the balance, no one knows where he'll play next season.

Another player in a similar situation to the Uruguayan is Luis Diaz, although the two players' situations could not be more different. The Colombian is in far more danger.

Diaz was signed six months prior to Nunez, but he has always had Cody Gakpo at left wing to try and get him out of trouble. If one player doesn't deliver, the other will step up.

However, this season, it has become clear that Gakpo is the far superior player in their pair and when your replacement is already succeeding at the club, you know you're on borrowed time.

There has been very little movement on a new contract for Diaz as a result, and the latest reports suggest that he might be destined for a move to Saudi Arabia, if the right jigsaw pieces fall into place.

Diaz firmly on the Saudi clubs' radar this summer

According to Ben Jacobs at TalkSport, a monumental approach will come in for Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr, although if the Saudi clubs are unsuccessful, then Luis Diaz is their alternative target.

The report claims: "...Players' futures are often resolved before they enter the final year of their contract to avoid them beginning negotiations with other teams and potentially leaving for free.

"That may well see Arne Slot's bosses faced with an irresistible offer from big-spending SPL for their Colombian.

"Al Nassr have already made such a move, signing Diaz's countryman Jhon Duran from Aston Villa in January for a massive £64m. And the decision may well be down to Diaz, given that such figures are of no concern at all to the Saudi league, as evidenced by the move for Vinicius."

A report from Alyaum, which references Jacobs' article, adds: "... The expected financial pressure from the Saudi League could put Liverpool's management in a difficult position."

Where are we at with Diaz?

Approaches from Saudi clubs are difficult to ignore, although Mohamed Salah opted to disengage from the interest in favour of signing a new contract with Liverpool.

The one caveat with that example is that Salah was adored by the club and the senior executives were willing to splash £400,000 a week on the Egyptian, a figure which is miles off what Diaz can expect.

If any negotiations are to take place with Diaz to improve on his current £55,000 a week deal, then you could maybe expect a 100% pay rise to see him pass the £100,000 a week threshold, but there is currently a lot of uncertainty about the Colombian's ability to deliver for Liverpool when we need him to.

With 15 goals and five assists, he has produced some promising returns, although a goal contribution every 150 minutes is a little underwhelming for one of the club's senior attackers.

Furthermore, Diaz is now 28 years old, so an assessment will need to made about what he can offer the club going forward. If this is the prime of his career, then you can understand the club's hesitation to throw a new deal at him.

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Whether a Saudi approach comes in for him at all will depend on whether Vinicius Jr rejects swathe of interest coming his way, but Diaz is currently no short of offers and Liverpool will be tempted to sell.

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