Liverpool's sale of Luis Diaz raises doubts amid Cody Gakpo reliance

Liverpool sold Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich last summer as the club cleared space for the £116m signing Florian Wirtz and placed their trust in Cody Gakpo on the left. Many supporters accepted the move, and manager Arne Slot defended it as part of a transfer strategy that required recouping funds, while saying he would miss Diaz’s song and his contribution to the title.

Diaz, however, played a pivotal role late in the previous season after being shifted into a false nine, ending with 25 goal involvements in 50 appearances and seven in Liverpool’s final 11 Premier League matches. Bayern paid £65.5m for him and quickly hailed his quality; he has largely justified that billing in his first months at the Allianz Arena.

Back at Anfield, Liverpool’s form has dipped and Gakpo has drawn criticism for being one-dimensional—often reliant on his right foot, lacking Diaz’s pace and physicality, and prone to disappearing from games.

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