Liverpool sign Luis Diaz: Four previous signings from the Primeira Liga and how they fared

Bengaluru, Feb. 1: Liverpool have swooped in to pull off one of the headline deals of the January transfer window with the transfer of Colombian Winger Luis Diaz despite the 25-year-old initially appearing destined for a move to Tottenham.

The Reds have completed the signing of Porto winger for a fee that could eventually rise to €45 million, making him the joint-third most expensive Premier League signing out of the Portuguese League.

However, Liverpool have not had much success signing players from the Portuguese League. Diaz is the fifth player to move directly from the Portuguese top flight to Liverpool. And last four transfers from Portugal were anything but success.

1. Raul Meireles

Following Javier Mascherano departure to Barcelona in 2010, Roy Hodgson signed the Portuguese midfielder from FC Porto in a £10.7million deal. He initially struggled to adapt to English football but became a regular under the next manager Kenny Dalglish. He made 35 appearances for Liverpool in the league that year, with an additional nine across the Europa League, FA and League Cups recording five goals and six assists. However, following a contractual standoff with the club, he forced an exit and eventually Chelsea snapped him up a year after.

2. Joao Carlos Teixeira

Liverpool signed the Sporting Lisbon’s academy star in January 2012 for £830,000 for their reserve side who was compared to Deco. He was destined for big things at Anfield. However, he never managed to fulfil the promise and eventually left the club in 2016 making only made eight appearances in the Liverpool first team.

3. Tiago Ilori

Another Sporting youngster who signed for the Reds in 2013 despite strong interest from the likes of Monaco, Spurs, Napoli and Valencia. The £7million signing however never managed to break into the Premier League line-up and mostly spent his career on multiple loans before cementing a permanent departure to Reading for £3.75million in January 2017.

4. Lazar Markovic

Signed as a 20-year-old, the Serbian winger was full of promise and potential when Brendan Rodgers signed him in 2014. He had just come off the back of an impressive season with Benfica and was regarded as one of Europe’s brightest young talents. However, he would not live up to such a promise. After an underwhelming season with just three goals, he spent the next few years on loan at Fenerbahce, Sporting Lisbon, Hull City and Anderlecht before joining Fulham on a permanent deal in January 2019.