Liverpool manager Arne Slot has addressed speculation surrounding Luis Díaz, confirming teh winger is training well but has not featured in preseason games due to a club decision. Díaz was notably absent from LiverpoolS 4-2 loss to AC Milan in Hong Kong.
Díaz, who enjoyed his most productive season with Liverpool last year, scoring 17 goals to help the club secure the Premier League title, is reportedly determined to leave Anfield. Sources indicate the 28-year-old has communicated this desire to club officials. Earlier in the summer, Liverpool also reportedly rejected an offer from Barcelona for the player.
Slot acknowledged the rumors surrounding Díaz but declined to elaborate further. “There’s a lot of rumours around him lately and I cannot go into that,” Slot stated in a news conference. “He’s training really well with us but we’ve decided for now not to play him yet.” When asked directly about Díaz’s desire to depart, Slot responded, “That is not the person to ask, me.”
Meanwhile, Darwin Núñez and Wataru Endo also missed Saturday’s match. Slot clarified that their absences were due to fitness concerns. “In Darwin’s situation he has trained also really well and played a few good games for us already this season,” Slot explained. “But he was injured so we didn’t want to take the risk.” He added that a similar approach was taken with Endo, who had trained with the squad but was deemed too much of a risk to play. Slot anticipates both players will be available for Liverpool’s next match in Japan.
Liverpool’s next preseason fixture is against yokohama F. Marinos on wednesday.
