Liverpool's most valuable player isn't who you'd expect

Liverpool have a squad of talented players and under the management of Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot, they have proved that they can deliver an incredibly high level of football.

Last season, Klopp had the team in a Premier League title race and while the Reds eventually ran out of steam, they still managed to secure an EFL Cup trophy win, the club's seventh major honour under the German manager.

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This season has so proved likely to result in similar success; the Reds are in their second successive EFL Cup Final, they topped the Champions League group phase to secure a place in the competition's last 16 knockout round and they are leading the Premier League by six points with a game in hand, looking better equipped to go all the way this year.

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As such, rival fans have been forced to admit that Liverpool's squad is filled with players who are performing at an extraordinarily high level, and so must be worth a considerable amount in the transfer market. And whilst that statement would be true, it would surprise you to know who the Reds' most valuable asset is.

Luis Diaz is Liverpool's MVP, apparently

Per FootballTransfers.com, the player with the highest transfer value in Liverpool's team is Luis Diaz.

The Colombian is worth a reported €78.5m (approx £65.3million), with Alexis Mac Allister (€74.2m, £61.7m) falling just behind him.

Of course, it is clear that in footballing terms, Mohamed Salah is Liverpool's best player on the pitch, delivering a remarkable 44 goal contributions in just 34 games this season.

But the Egyptian King is currently set to be out of contract this summer so his reported value is way down at €31.1m, and that is only really applicable if Liverpool have a contracted player to consider selling. Likewise, Virgil Van Dijk's value is all the way down at €21.3m - in part due to his age, not necessarily the level he is playing at.

It must also be stated that these transfer value estimates are merely offering an objective look at what a club might have to pay if they were to approach one of the Reds' stars.

If a rival club were to enquire about Liverpool's players, then that figure would likely be substantially higher, and so the value of the players to the club are set to be substantially higher than these estimates. Liverpool aren't looking to even consider selling any of the players until the summer where they can reassess their long-term plan.

However, Luis Diaz has been subject to interest from clubs such as Barcelona and Chelsea and his current contracts have reportedly stalled because Liverpool aren't entirely certain about where he should stay on Merseyside beyond 2027.

As such, for a player whose form has recently fallen off - adding just three goals since September to his current Premier League haul of five goals - a figure close to the £61.7m valuation for him would be an impressive fee to cash in with.

Cody Gakpo has recently excelled in the left-wing position and so Diaz has been left to deputise for the Dutchman while occasionally being fielded as a free-roaming centre forward.

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It is clear that the 28-year-old Colombian has talent and ability to burn, but unless his performance levels improve as the season comes to a close, then Liverpool will be heavily considering the current approaches for him, bringing in a player more suited to Arne Slot's needs.

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