Luis Díaz is one of the top pressers in the Premier League. It is part of why he has a better record than his positional peers for an interesting metric.
I wrote about Lucho recently but can't help myself at the moment. He seems to have a spark in a side that doesn't have enough of one. His pressing numbers took me a little by surprise too.
All hail the most important forward in the Premier League ;-)
Thanks for this work Andrew! Lucho has been integral to our success this season. Yet, when discussing players to exit the club this summer, supporters always seem to mention him. I just don't get it.
When you look at his data compared to his peers, the only other LF across Europe that you could argue are better are: Kvara, Vini Jr, and Sane with mentions for Raphinha, Desire Doue & Anthony Gordon. Of these peers, we have 0% chance of signing any of them for next season (missed our chance on Kvara). For goals, xG, assists, xA, Lucho is right up there with these peers per 90. When you compare him on pass accuracy and pressures (his extra special qualities), he's really on his own with only Leroy Sane for company. He's just a fantastic footballer regardless of position.
I've heard the "sell to buy" argument but elite clubs do that with their squad, not their starters, i.e. youth players who don't project to start, or 30yo+ players who are fading performers. I've heard the "he wants to go" argument which, to be fair, his father seems to share with anyone who asks. But, to which club will he leave? Hughes won't sell him to a domestic rival. No club in Europe has a starting LF position available. So he leaves to sit the bench for Barca or goes into semi-retirement in Saudi? Nah, he signs a (deserved) extension, increasing his wages to an appropriate level while providing us more time to plan for his succession (it's not Cody IMO).
"Yet, when discussing players to exit the club this summer, supporters always seem to mention him. I just don't get it."
Likewise. It's a fantastic problem to have but I think it's very hard to blow Liverpool fans away as an attacker these days.
Remember when Sadio Mané first signed? He seemed like the answer to the attacking problems that first season, from day one when he scored a belter at Arsenal. In 2016/17 he scored 13 times, which Diaz got last season. He has 15 so far in 2024/25. But the impact or impression is nothing like the same.
Now Mane averaged 20 goals across his six seasons, and it's likely Lucho won't reach those heights. He'll never outshine Salah either, whereas Mane had a season in the sun before Mo turned up.
But I think the recent history of LFC makes what would be perfectly acceptable seasons from forwards seem humdrum, maybe even below par. As much as Darwin has struggled, he got 18 goals and 13 assists last season! Opinions get quickly set and are very hard if not impossible to shift.
That's a great point Andrew. Comparisons (to Sadio, in your example) can lead to a distorted perception of a player's value. And comparisons are essential to valuing a player. The irony, however, is that Lucho's critics should compare him to an available REPLACEMENT, not to a club legend. As I mention above, I just don't see a replacement who can be signed and is better than Lucho for the next 1-2 seasons. We have glaring needs in other positions (LB, CF and CB at a minimum). I don't get why some supporters seem eager to sell Luis to create another one.
I do rate Cody but not as highly as Luis. They are probably equals as far as attacking. But Luis is the better footballer overall and it shows up in his pressing, ball progression and passing/possession stats. I want us to keep Cody next season though ... we need 2 strong options at LF.
Well done, Andrew. For more than half the season I've been listening to many pundits implying how Lucho is effectively expendable, and I honestly can't figure out how they manage to conclude this. Of course, there's no shortage of nonsense discussion around footie, but some opinions simply don't pass the smell test, let alone the eye test or the empirical data test.
"He also drew blanks in both legs against Paris Saint-Germain and the Carabao Cup final. If you can name a Red who was spectacular in those games, please hit the comments section at the bottom."
Champions and all that but these two games make me feeling uncomfortable when thinking for the next season.
It was disturbing watching 11 unspectacular reds in 3 important games. Ok, ok 2, the cup final is a mere distraction ;)
I was perhaps a little harsh in my assessment of one of those games there, Liverpool were good in the home game against PSG. Just not quite good enough...
I wrote about Lucho recently but can't help myself at the moment. He seems to have a spark in a side that doesn't have enough of one. His pressing numbers took me a little by surprise too.
All hail the most important forward in the Premier League ;-)
Thanks for this work Andrew! Lucho has been integral to our success this season. Yet, when discussing players to exit the club this summer, supporters always seem to mention him. I just don't get it.
When you look at his data compared to his peers, the only other LF across Europe that you could argue are better are: Kvara, Vini Jr, and Sane with mentions for Raphinha, Desire Doue & Anthony Gordon. Of these peers, we have 0% chance of signing any of them for next season (missed our chance on Kvara). For goals, xG, assists, xA, Lucho is right up there with these peers per 90. When you compare him on pass accuracy and pressures (his extra special qualities), he's really on his own with only Leroy Sane for company. He's just a fantastic footballer regardless of position.
I've heard the "sell to buy" argument but elite clubs do that with their squad, not their starters, i.e. youth players who don't project to start, or 30yo+ players who are fading performers. I've heard the "he wants to go" argument which, to be fair, his father seems to share with anyone who asks. But, to which club will he leave? Hughes won't sell him to a domestic rival. No club in Europe has a starting LF position available. So he leaves to sit the bench for Barca or goes into semi-retirement in Saudi? Nah, he signs a (deserved) extension, increasing his wages to an appropriate level while providing us more time to plan for his succession (it's not Cody IMO).
"Yet, when discussing players to exit the club this summer, supporters always seem to mention him. I just don't get it."
Likewise. It's a fantastic problem to have but I think it's very hard to blow Liverpool fans away as an attacker these days.
Remember when Sadio Mané first signed? He seemed like the answer to the attacking problems that first season, from day one when he scored a belter at Arsenal. In 2016/17 he scored 13 times, which Diaz got last season. He has 15 so far in 2024/25. But the impact or impression is nothing like the same.
Now Mane averaged 20 goals across his six seasons, and it's likely Lucho won't reach those heights. He'll never outshine Salah either, whereas Mane had a season in the sun before Mo turned up.
But I think the recent history of LFC makes what would be perfectly acceptable seasons from forwards seem humdrum, maybe even below par. As much as Darwin has struggled, he got 18 goals and 13 assists last season! Opinions get quickly set and are very hard if not impossible to shift.
That's a great point Andrew. Comparisons (to Sadio, in your example) can lead to a distorted perception of a player's value. And comparisons are essential to valuing a player. The irony, however, is that Lucho's critics should compare him to an available REPLACEMENT, not to a club legend. As I mention above, I just don't see a replacement who can be signed and is better than Lucho for the next 1-2 seasons. We have glaring needs in other positions (LB, CF and CB at a minimum). I don't get why some supporters seem eager to sell Luis to create another one.
I think signing an attacker will always be viewed as more exciting than signing, say, a left-back, irrespective of the actual needs of the team!
You don’t rate Gakpo at LF?
I do rate Cody but not as highly as Luis. They are probably equals as far as attacking. But Luis is the better footballer overall and it shows up in his pressing, ball progression and passing/possession stats. I want us to keep Cody next season though ... we need 2 strong options at LF.
Well done, Andrew. For more than half the season I've been listening to many pundits implying how Lucho is effectively expendable, and I honestly can't figure out how they manage to conclude this. Of course, there's no shortage of nonsense discussion around footie, but some opinions simply don't pass the smell test, let alone the eye test or the empirical data test.
"He also drew blanks in both legs against Paris Saint-Germain and the Carabao Cup final. If you can name a Red who was spectacular in those games, please hit the comments section at the bottom."
Champions and all that but these two games make me feeling uncomfortable when thinking for the next season.
It was disturbing watching 11 unspectacular reds in 3 important games. Ok, ok 2, the cup final is a mere distraction ;)
I was perhaps a little harsh in my assessment of one of those games there, Liverpool were good in the home game against PSG. Just not quite good enough...