Luis Diaz may have arrived at Liverpool during the January transfer window as something of an unknown quantity, but it did not take the Colombian winger long to make his presence felt at Anfield. Within a matter of weeks, the talented South American felt like part of the furniture.
A clearly confident character wasted little time in adjusting to the demands of life in English football, with six goals and four assists recorded across 26 appearances in all competitions. He collected major silverware within weeks of his arrival, in a League Cup triumph over Chelsea, and would go on to start FA Cup and Champions League finals before his debut campaign on Merseyside was done.
The expectation is that there is more to come from Diaz heading forward, with Liverpool priced at 2/1 in football odds for Premier League title glory in 2022-23 and 5/1 to capture another European crown – having fallen agonisingly short in those quests last season.
Suits you, @LuisFDiaz19 pic.twitter.com/7qnpJdyOU6
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 14, 2022
The potential is clearly there for Diaz to take on ever-greater responsibility in the final third of the field, with his direct running and creative qualities marking him out as a perfect fit for a system under Jurgen Klopp that requires everybody to offer a bit of everything.
It is, however, worth noting that more may soon be demanded of him, rather than being merely longed for. Expectations were exceeded during the second half of the 2021-22 season, but a bar has now been set that he cannot afford to dip below after being given time in which to find his feet.
More to come?
Klopp said of Diaz after seeing him burst onto the scene at Liverpool: “You don’t expect miracles immediately from these kinds of players, but he is not far away from doing exactly that.”
It was impossible to ignore the fact that a winter addition was looking every bit the miracle worker, with transfer logic defied as a man with no prior experience of life in the Premier League proceeded to make a task that many before him have struggled to get to grips with look remarkably easy to master.
Diaz’s cause was, however, being aided considerably by those around him. He was able to earn plenty of plaudits for registering a handful of goals as the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were posting over 50 between them.
Luis Diaz and Liverpool are a perfect match pic.twitter.com/G3HID73SEA
— GOAL (@goal) May 4, 2022
It remains to be seen how long either of those talismanic figures will be sticking around at Anfield, with there plenty of speculation to be found regarding summer moves elsewhere for either or both. If they were to depart, then obvious voids would need to be filled quickly in Klopp’s plans.
Diaz has, like Diogo Jota before him, offered enough to suggest that he is capable of filling the boots of illustrious team-mates and becoming a superstar in his own right. He may soon be left with little choice but to pick up that baton.
With talk of more incomings gathering pace, as the exit rumours rage on, Liverpool need those already in the building to step up to the plate. Diaz has been doing that in some style, but a learning curve may become a lot steeper before it starts to flatten out.
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