Is €60M a fair price for Barcelona to consider the Reds' explosive winger?

Since the summer transfer window began before the 2024/25 campaign, Barca has been on the go to reinforce their left wing. Initially, Luis Diaz, the Reds' pacy winger, was the club's priority signing for the left-wing role. However, with him having a contract with Liverpool till 2027, Barca needed to lay off Raphinha to collect the release clause fee worth €59 million for him.

Moreover, with Nico Williams' increasing fandom for his spectacular show at the Euros, rumors regarding Nico had taken over Diaz's talks. However, with the Nico Williams deal going cold, rumors have again begun at FC Barcelona regarding reinforcements on the club's left wing. Among the current names, Luis Diaz, Kingsley Coman, and Federico Chiesa are the prominent names for the role.

Is €60M a fair price for Barcelona to consider the Reds' explosive winger?

According to recent reports from Mundo Deportivo, Luis Diaz is the club's favorite amongst the other alternatives to Nico Williams. The report further mentioned that Liverpool would sell Luis Diaz for €60 million, the same price Barcelona was willing to pay for Nico Williams. Thus, the question arises: is €60 million a fair price for Barca to consider Luis Diaz?

Though Luis Diaz had an impressive 2023/24 campaign, where he was involved in 18 goals, the Colombian winger doesn't enjoy extraordinary stats overall as a starting Liverpool winger. In his 98 appearances for the Reds, Diaz has netted 24 goals while registering 13 assists to his name. Though this looks impressive, it feels similar to the stats of a forgotten Barcelona winger.

For context, Ansu Fati, who was loaned out to Brighton for his mediocre performances, boasts 29 goals in his 112 appearances for FC Barcelona. It can be opined that Nico Williams, for whom Barca was willing to trigger the release clause worth €58 million, hadn't had a brilliant campaign in 2023/24 either, but in reality, the cases of these two players stand far apart.

Nico Williams enjoyed a star-making Euro campaign, registering two goals and an assist to his name. Though these numbers might not sound extraordinary, his explosive runs and classy dribbling had the biggest of the opponents in turmoil. It seemed on every touch the winger made that a goal might arrive for Spain.

On the other hand, despite scoring two goals in the Copa America, Luis Diaz failed to make such an impact on the opposition. Diaz's first goal in Copa 2024 came through a penalty against Costa Rica, and the second one arrived when Colombia was comfortably leading 2-0 against Panama. On comparing this with Nico's brilliant show against England in the Euro Finals, Diaz's recent form looks mediocre.

Thus, it is clear that Liverpool wants to extract as much as they can from Diaz's deal, as their new Arne Slot doesn't count on him the way Klopp did. Overall, even though Luis Diaz stands as the favorite candidate at Barca, the club can prefer a more feasible option like Federico Chiesa, who might arrive at the club for as little as €20 million, or stick with Raphael, who has proved himself at Barcelona.