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Football London
Football London
Sport
Rob Guest

Fabio Paratici's secret weapon that can help Tottenham seal Luis Diaz transfer ahead of Liverpool

Luis Diaz is the name on the lips of all Tottenham fans as the clock ticks down until the January transfer deadline.

Yet to bring in a new signing so far this month despite Tottenham having three priority positions to fill, Spurs have until 11pm on Monday, January 31 to strengthen their squad.

One man who many expect to sign on the dotted line at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is Wolves' Adama Traore, who was tipped to move to north London during the summer.

The Lilywhites are yet to make their move for the Spanish international but there is a confidence that a deal will go through before the transfer deadline.

Amid talk of Traore heading to the capital, he could well be joined at the club by Porto star Diaz if Tottenham can get a deal over the line.

football.london understands that managing director of football Fabio Paratici has opened talks with the Portuguese club and the player's representatives about the possibility of bringing him to the capital before the month is out.

Reports in Italy have suggested that Spurs have lodged a €45m (£37.6m) offer plus add-ons for the exciting winger, although they will likely need to offer a lot more to tempt his club into a sale.

Diaz, who has a £67million release clause in his contract, has plenty of admirers at Tottenham, and other Premier League clubs for that matter, and it's not hard to see why after a fine season with Porto.

Luis Diaz has impressed at Porto and subsequently caught the attention of a number of Premier League clubs (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Joining the Portuguese giants back in 2019 from Colombian side Junior, the winger has taken his game to a whole new level over the past few seasons and subsequently come to the attention of Europe's biggest clubs.

Scoring 11 goals and registering six assists from 47 games in all competitions for Porto last campaign, the 25-year-old has already bettered his goal tally from 2020/21 with 16 goals from a total of 28 games this term and has also produced the same amount of assists.

In his 18 league games to date in 2021/22, Diaz has 14 goals and five assists, thus explaining why the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United have been linked with the highly-rated attacker.

Although Spurs ideally need to bring in an out-and-out striker this month to help provide cover for Harry Kane, their plans might be shelved until the summer when it's easier to sign one if Diaz comes in as either Steven Bergwijn or Son Heung-min can play through the middle if Kane is absent.

With the Premier League and some other domestic leagues currently on pause at present with international football on the agenda, Diaz is currently away representing Colombia as they are in World Cup qualifier action over the next week.

Hosting Peru on Friday evening in the first of their two games as they look to boost their chances of making the tournament at the end of the year, they then face a tricky tie away at Argentina on Tuesday.

Diaz more than played his part in his country's Copa America success last summer as he notched four goals, starring in the same team as Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez as they came third in the competition.

On international duty with Sanchez again this month, the Spurs defender can play a key part in tempting the winger to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium providing of course that the clubs can agree on a fee for his services.

Having linked up on international duty at the start of the week after both playing for their clubs on Sunday, the duo will have another week with each other before the international break comes to a close and domestic football returns.

That leaves Sanchez with plenty of time to sell Tottenham to Diaz, discuss how he would fit in at the club and also explain what life is like under Antonio Conte and how far the head coach can take them.

Especially given previous talk of a switch to Liverpool, it's vital for the Spurs defender to make it clear to his international teammate that Tottenham is the club for him.

The international break may complicate matters in terms of finalising deals in the final week of the transfer window but it could also potentially work in Tottenham's favour with Sanchez and Diaz spending the next week together.

However, that is all going to come down to Tottenham striking a deal with Porto before Monday's 11pm transfer deadline.

Tottenham fans are desperate for a big signing this month to give everyone a lift ahead of the final push and they would get that in Diaz.

Conte would have some front three on his hands in Kane, Son and Diaz if Paratici and Daniel Levy can complete a deal for the Porto ace.

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