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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Liverpool star Alisson has already given his thoughts on Luis Diaz as transfer nears

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson will be relishing the prospect of joining forces with Luis Diaz if his previous verdict on the gifted forward is anything to go by.

Anfield chiefs have agreed a £50million transfer to sign Diaz, 25, from Porto for an initial fee of £37.5million with a further £12.5million in add-ons.

Liverpool faced off with the Colombian winger in this season's Champions League, while Brazil No. 1 Alisson has also encountered him on the international stage.

Diaz scored against the Selecao in last summer's Copa America and shared the tournament's Golden Boot award with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.

The winger, who is right-footed and lines up on the left flank, also took on Brazil in World Cup qualifiers in October and November.

Will Luis Diaz slot into Liverpool's starting XI? Have your say in the comments!

Luis Diaz finished as the top goalscorer at last summer's Copa America (Getty Images)

Diaz clearly caught Alisson's eye during the Copa America and drew lavish praise from the shot-stopper, 29, for his well-rounded game ahead of the qualifiers.

"Luis Diaz is an excellent player, he does a lot of work for the defence, he did it in the goals of Copa America," Alisson said.

"In Porto, he comes with good performances, and here our task is to see Colombia as a whole and to worry about how we should destroy it."

Despite Alisson's praise, Diaz was not at his best as Colombia drew 0-0 then lost 1-0 against Brazil in last autumn's qualifiers.

He was also kept quiet as Liverpool recorded an emphatic 5-1 victory at Porto and followed this up with a 2-0 win over the Portuguese giants at Anfield in the Champions League group stage.

Nonetheless, Diaz's talent is clear for all to see and he is already enjoying his most-prolific season in a Porto shirt with 16 goals in 28 games.

Porto captain and former Real Madrid icon Pepe declared it is "a pride to have players" like Diaz in his side after he scored against rivals Sporting Lisbon in September.

It is no surprise Diaz also attracted interest from Manchester United and Tottenham throughout the January transfer window.

Alisson will relish having his South American rival Luis Diaz as a Liverpool teammate (JULIO CESAR GUIMARAES/EPA-EFE/REX)

Spurs saw a bid in the region of £37million turned down for the player earlier this week, with Porto reluctant to part ways with the player for so little.

Diaz's contract at Estadio do Dragao runs until the summer of 2024 and his release clause is set at €80million (£67m).

But Liverpool have managed to strike a deal for a lower sum and they hope to wrap up the deal imminently.

In the meantime, Diaz will line up for Colombia in their World Cup qualifiers against Peru on Friday night and Argentina on Tuesday.

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