Luis Diaz may already have changed Liverpool reality after $100m summer transfer didn't come off

Liverpool couldn't have asked for much more from Luis Diaz this season. Since Arne Slot took over from Jurgen Klopp , only Erling Haaland has scored more goals than the Colombian in the Premier League — not bad for someone who only got eight in the whole of last year.

It would be fair to say that Diaz has found another level this season , and not just in the final third. His entire game has been elevated and the 27-year-old is now delivering the numbers that his talent suggested he was capable of. Diaz needs to keep it going and maintain that for the next few months, but it has been the ideal start.

Alongside him, though, vying for a position in the first-choice team down the left of the attack, is another similarly exciting player in the form of Cody Gakpo . The Dutchman netted twice midweek against West Ham United and has also been in electric form.

And while it feels like a while ago now, Liverpool agreed a deal in principle with Newcastle United to sign another top left-sided forward in Anthony Gordon during the summer. He would have cost around $100m (£75m/€90m) with Joe Gomez going the other way for a fee of about $60m (£45m/€54m).

In the end, Newcastle was able to find a way out of the PSR hole it had dug for itself by selling Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson instead. A favorable transfer deal for Liverpool didn't happen as a result.

The Reds do still admire Gordon, though — and Newcastle still wants to keep him. According to The Athletic , a deal with the player to extend his contract at St James' Park is nearing completion. And unless it has a release clause, that would seem an odd move for a player holding all of the power regarding his future to make.

There is a legitimate question mark, though, about whether Liverpool should still consider a primarily left-sided forward as a priority given the new levels that Diaz and Gakpo have found. Would you want to swap Gordon for either at the moment? It's hard to make a convincing argument.

The England ace is three years younger than Diaz, so that goes in his favor. But the Colombian has found another level of consistency that few thought it would be possible to unlock. It shouldn't be a complete surprise — this year, Diaz's father hasn't been kidnapped , which was quite the distraction — but few saw an improvement as stark as this one coming.

Diaz has completely changed the outlook for his future. Where he was considered someone who needed to improve dramatically heading into the summer, he has arguably been Liverpool's most important player since the new campaign began.

Things could have been different had Gordon arrived. As it stands, though, the Reds won't have any regrets about losing out on the $100m man. If Gordon signs a new contract with his current club, that would only underline that even further.