Before the Southampton match, the bad news that Luis Diaz received at Liverpool

Although it has been a great season for Luis Díaz in terms of numbers, the Colombian is facing a complicated situation in the competition for the starting position at Liverpool. The English press has revealed who is taking advantage between the Colombian and Cody Gakpo.

With the arrival of Arne Slot to the Liverpool bench, Luis Díaz's starting position as left winger has been put into doubt. The Dutch coach put Cody Gakpo on the same level as the Colombian and it is not clear who is the coach's priority for the team building.

'Lucho' has been relegated to the substitutes' bench in several games and, in many games in which he was a starter, he was adapted to the false 9 position. This generates great uncertainty regarding the future of the 'Reds' under the orders of Arne Slot.

Luis Díaz or Cody Gakpo?

The English newspaper, Liverpool Echo has given details about this dispute for the starting position. “Gakpo arrived at a club going through a difficult period and attempts to transform the left winger into a more central operator in the attacking line did not yield instant results, while former coach Jürgen Klopp even occasionally opted to use the attacker as the most advanced of the three in midfield.”

Slot’s arrival on the bench would have clearly benefited the Dutch attacker. “Gakpo regained his privileged position following the arrival of his compatriot at the beginning of June. Having seen how much the attacker developed on the left wing of a trident during his time in the Eredivisie, Slot had no qualms about destroying Klopp’s schemes to turn the striker into a ‘false 9’ a la Roberto Firmino.”

The outlet highlighted the coach’s refusal to relocate Gakpo, which led him to look for a new role for Luis Díaz. “Even with Diogo Jota sidelined for two months during a period when Darwin Nunez was the only recognised and natural ‘No. 9’ in the team, Slot turned down the chance to reprise Gakpo’s central role, preferring instead to play with Luis Diaz in the middle.”

Luis Diaz is losing the fight

“The fight for the left-wing spot with Diaz will continue throughout the season under Slot, but it is Gakpo who seems to have the shirt at the moment” clarified the daily