The new Diaz: Liverpool in talks to sign “the best winger in the country”
da bet esporte： The 2025/26 campaign has brought a whole host of problems onto Arne Slot’s doorstep, with his title-winning Liverpool side knocked so far out of kilter it is difficult to see how they will be realigned before the end of the season.
da prosport bet： The tenth-place champions would be in deep bother were they to limp to the finish line, trailing the Champions League pack, trailing the pay packet that comes with Europe’s elite competition.
Liverpool spent a lot of money this summer, a record-breaking amount. It would be fair to say that Richard Hughes’ signings haven’t all worked out, and the onus is now on finding form and sustaining it, mounting a fightback after months of distress.
However, the recent Mohamed Salah conundrum has cast Liverpool’s season into new territory, and it needs sorting out quickly.
The latest on Salah's situation at Liverpool
Slot was coy when discussing Salah’s explosive outburst at Elland Road, incensed after being kept on the bench for three successive fixtures.
All of a Liverpool persuasion hope for an agreeable resolution, but the truth is that the 33-year-old may be headed for the exit, with multiple pointers suggesting he will not return after jetting off to the African Cup of Nations with Egypt.
Liverpool need a replacement, and they may have found one in a star bearing a likeness to Luis Diaz, who was sold to Bayern Munich in August.
According to Fabrizio Romano, speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Liverpool are in talks to sign Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo, whose future has been a hot topic this year.
Semenyo’s £65m release clause becomes active in January, and with Salah ostensibly inching toward a bitter exit at the end of his glittering Merseyside career, FSG are primed to make the payment and restore Liverpool’s frontline.
Why Liverpool want to sign Semenyo
Semenyo, 25, was hailed as “the best winger in the country” by pundit Chris Waddle in November, having enjoyed a blistering start to the campaign with Bournemouth. On the opener, he netted twice at Anfield.
Now he has six goals and three assists to his name in the Premier League this term, and that’s without having notched a direct involvement across the past two months. This could be perceived as a negative thing, but Andoni Iraola’s side have been in a rut for a little while, and Semenyo continues to stand out as a shining light.
The Ghanaian’s physicality and directness could even see him emerge as Liverpool’s new version of Diaz, even if he’s welcomed to – in theory – replace Salah.
Diaz and Semenyo share in their athleticism an economy of strength and motion. The two players are versatile and confident across the frontline. They are both fleet-footed and as electric as they come, but they are also intelligent and calculated, reserving their energy for opportune moments.
Premier League – Antoine Semenyo vs Luis Diaz
Stats (per 90)
Semenyo (25/26)
Diaz (24/25)
Goals scored
0.43
0.49
Assists
0.21
0.19
Shots taken
2.29
2.66
Shot-creating actions
3.43
4.39
Touches (att pen)
4.43
6.27
Pass completion (%)
71.3
84.2
Progressive passes
3.65
4.13
Progressive carries
3.65
4.05
Successful take-ons
1.64
1.99
Ball recoveries
5.00
3.94
Tackles + interceptions
2.00
1.73
Data via FBref
Semenyo’s pace and ability to take on and beat defenders set him apart from Liverpool’s current crop. Cody Gakpo is too one-note; Salah is getting old, and he lacks his one-time speed and physical attributes.
Liverpool need more variation. They have been ‘found out’ this season, with the same players weaving the same patterns and struggling to get the same results as last year. Semenyo would change that, adding not one attacking dimension but two or three.
Four matches have come and gone since Liverpool last tasted defeat. The midweek win over Inter Milan at the San Siro was impressive, for sure, but Premier League draws against Sunderland and Leeds United shine a light on the many dents in the metalwork.
FSG, Slot, Hughes, Michael Edwards. Nobody could have foreseen such a staggering slide, but the slump has to be arrested and kept locked up.
It’s all well and good making Liverpool more compact, harder to beat, but if the restoration process is to launch the Reds back into the ascendancy, they need an elite forward as Semenyo added to the mix. The decision against directly replacing Diaz has had far-reaching ramifications. It’s time to sort it out.
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