Jamie Carragher has claimed that Luis Diaz has “transformed” Liverpool this season and already achieved something that no other player has.
Diaz moved from Porto in January and has made an instant impact in Jurgen Klopp’s side . Scoring his first goal for the Reds two weeks after making his debut, the Colombian had the joy of lifting the Carabao Cup at Wembley, less than a month after his arrival on Merseyside.
With an FA Cup semi-final coming up this weekend , the 25-year-old’s electric performances on the left flank have already made Diaz a contender to start important games for the Reds. And Liverpool legend Carrgaher believes Diaz is the first player to ever threaten Sadio Mane’s place in Jurgen Klopp’s team.
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“He’s come in and he is the first person who has ever put Sadio Mane, in the last four or five years, under real pressure for his position,” Carragher told CBS Sports . “Sadio Mane has now, at times, moved to centre-forward because of the pressure from Diaz in that position.
“He has been a revelation since he has come in. He really has. It feels like to me that he has transformed Liverpool, where people are now looking at their squad and are saying ‘they have a great squad’. You have seen the goals he has scored already and how brave he has been.”
There is truth to Carra’s claim that Diaz’s arrival has had an impact on Mane ’s season. Though the Senegalese forward has kept his place in the side , the 30-year-old has been forced to occupy central position in the frontline more often this term.
The reason for this positional shift was initially due to an injury to Diogo Jota in February. However, last weekend’s draw with Manchester City was only the second time in the last eight league games that Mane started on the left wing, following Diaz’s move from Porto.
