Tottenham have been dealt another transfer blow as FC Porto are unwilling to accept less than €80m (£72.3m) for Luis Diaz. According to DesPorto, Porto president Pinto da Costa won’t entertain any bid less than the 23-year-old’s release clause, so we may have to turn our attentions elsewhere.
Who is Diaz?
A Colombian winger who has spent one year at Porto. Diaz made the switch from Junior FC for £6.5m last summer and has gone on to make 50 appearances in all competitions, scoring 14 goals with seven assists.
As per WhoScored, he created 20 chances, had 45/72 successful dribbles, whipping 16 crosses with 25% accuracy, had 50 shots with 40% hitting the target, blocked 18 passes/crosses/shots, won 49 free-kicks and averaged a tackle (22) or interception (15) every 31 minutes.
The 23-year-old is coming off the back of a productive debut season and has interest from us and Inter Milan, but it doesn’t appear he’s attainable. Diaz has four more years on his deal, so Porto are under no obligation to cash in. His £72.3m release clause is £15m more than our club-record transfer (Tanguy Ndombele), so it’s hard to see us lodging a bid as we need to sell to buy.
Why do we need another wide-man?
Jose Mourinho has Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela, Steve Bergwijn, Heung-min Son and Jack Clarke at his disposal, but Lamela (35 PL apps, four goals, four assists) and Bergwijn (14 PL apps, three goals, one assist) have struggled for goals, Son has played 27% of his games at centre-forward (11/41) and Clarke has so far been surplus to requirements, so it makes sense to bring in a new face.
Diaz scored more league goals (6) than Moura (4), Bergwijn (3) and Lamela (2) last season, so he would improve the squad, but he’s not worth paying £72m for. Brentford’s Said Benrahma is on Tottenham’s radar and may be available for a fraction of Diaz’s asking price.
Summary
The Colombian international is coming off the back of a positive season at Porto and would improve our squad, but his valuation is far too high. There’s zero chance Daniel Levy would entertain such a fee, so this story looks a non-starter.
In other news, Tottenham have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Vedat Muriqi