Posted this in the match thread, but I realized this thread is probably the more appropriate place for it:
I know this might be a very unpopular opinion, but as much as I like him as a player and recognize his undeniable qualities as a winger, I simply never understood the transfer. We play a system with a false nine and our goal scorers are the wingers. Mane, Salah, Jota all represent that very well. Players who are/were wingers yes, but their main strengths were elsewhere than in the dribbling abilities. They all are surprisingly strong for their size, very quick, they make very smart runs all the time and have outstanding finishing abilities. Diaz is a conventional winger. He's fast and tricky and possess a powerful shot. Yes he'll score goals, but he'll never replace the output Mane gave us or even come close to doing that. Between starting him or Jota, I'd start the latter any day of the week.
Maybe his transfer was based on the idea that we need to diversify the type of wingers we have and a more traditional winger might be useful in certain situations. Otherwise, like I said, those waiting/expecting a sizeable return of goals by him will be waiting for a long time.
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