Liverpool have already given answer to Saudi Arabia amid Luis Diaz £43 million links

They’re been the great disruptor of the summer transfer window. Akin to Apple launching the iPod and causing the decline of CDs or Netflix taking over from Blockbuster when it came to the way people watch movies.

Granted, the Premier League won’t be becoming a thing of the past like the aforementioned pair because of the Saudi Pro League. It will remain the best and most watched division in football. But there’s no doubt that the oodles of cash Saudi Arabia have been offering players has broken the status quo.

You’d only have to ask Jurgen Klopp how much it has impacted his plans. After recruiting Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai for a combined £95 million, the Liverpool manager must have thought that he could start deploying his blueprint for the 2023-24 season. Midfield had always been the area of his squad that needed replenishing and it was done before the Reds had even returned for duty.

But now two players who he’d earmarked to be part of his ploy are wanted in Saudi. Fabinho appears as if he will likely be departing to the Middle East. He was left behind from Liverpool's pre-season tour in Germany amid a £40 million bid from Al-Ittihad.

Jordan Henderson, meanwhile, could also be on his way. His former Anfield team-mate and Kop icon Steven Gerrard wants to prise the Reds captain to Al-Ettifaq although the desired fee is proving a sticking point. Thiago Alcantara is another who has attracted admiring glances from the Saudis.

Yet there has been a stage when all three have been scrutinised as to whether they have a future on Merseyside. Henderson has often been the proverbial whipping boy despite being Klopp's leader. Some argued that Fabinho's legs had given way last season amid a startling jettison of form that seemed unexplainable. And while plenty have been mesmerised by the swashbuckling Thiago’s range of passing, his injury record is difficult to defend.

Yet you'd have to spend painstaking hours - perhaps days on end - to find a supporter who's said that Luis Diaz, the latest to be linked with a switch to Saudi, should be sold.

Portuguese newspaperRecord has suggested that Al-Hilal are prepared to make a £43 million bid. Yet, in truth, there’s not even a modicum of a chance Liverpool will allow him to leave unless an offer that simply couldn’t be refused is lodged.

After signing from Porto an initial £37.5 million in January 2022, the winger made a barnstorming impact. Only Virgil van Dijk has made such a swift impression after being introduced to Klopp's side midway through a season. Diaz quickly thrust his way into the Reds' starting line-up, with Sadio Mane switched from his customary left flank to a central role so the new arrival could be accommodated. Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino were pushed down the pecking order as a consequence.

Diaz started both Carabao Cup and FA Cup final triumphs over Chelsea as well as the Champions League final loss to Real Madrid. He ended the 2021-22 season with six goals and five assists in 26 appearances. A highly-respectable start.

Kopites were left purring at the thought of the damage the tenacious Diaz could do over a full campaign. Despite a lacklustre start from Liverpool last term, the 26-year-old was one of the few players who hit the expected standards. He racked up four goals and three assists before his devastating knee injury suffered at Arsenal in October.

There had been initial hope Diaz would return after the hiatus of the season for the World Cup. He briefly returned to training during a training camp in Dubai just two months after his initial issue but his recovery hit the buffers and surgery was required.

“It’s clear it’s a big disappointment for all of us, for him as well,” said Klopp. “It was a non-situation in training. Nothing and [then he] felt something. [He] didn’t feel a lot next day but we wanted to be really cautious and said: ‘OK, come on, let’s have a brief look.’ And then the news came and it was a proper smash in the face.”

Diaz would finally make his return off the bench in a 6-1 thrashing of Leeds United some six months later. The reception he got from the travelling fans at Elland Road was rousing - and it didn’t take him long to force his way back into Liverpool’s XI.

During the business end of the season, Liverpool recorded six successive victories - with Diaz involved in each. He scored in the thrilling 4-3 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur and the Reds would secure what had looked an unlikely fifth-place finish.

And how Klopp lauded Diaz during that run of victories underlined that he’s very much part of the Reds’ plans.

“Fantastic,” Klopp enthused about Diaz’s return. “We are so excited about it, we were always excited about it. The thing is, he was out after he got the injury in the Arsenal game – very strange game, by the way – and came back when we were in a training camp during the World Cup in Dubai, so we all thought: 'Finally back’.

"He trained exceptional, absolutely exceptional, and he slipped only a little bit on the grass, felt something, kept going on, everything is fine. After training, 'Yeah, I feel a little bit. Let's see.' Another scan, out for another three months or whatever. Horrible, absolutely horrible.

"He's a natural player. I love him, absolutely love him. It's unbelievable. He's so football smart, moving in the right areas, naturally defending from his position, goal threat, speed, cheeky. Very, very special player, I have to say. We missed him a lot.”

Klopp heads into the upcoming season with potent attacking options. Mo Salah will remain the talisman while Jota, who had his own serious calf injury last season, has proven to be a dependable figure. There will be hopes that Darwin Nunez is more settled during his second year at Anfield, having displayed glimpses of his quality last term. Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo will benefit from a full pre-season having made eye-catching progress following his January arrival from PSV Eindhoven.

But plenty of fans will concur that the berth on the left flank, should all be fit, will go to Diaz for the curtain-raiser against Chelsea on 13 August.