Luis Diaz: Tottenham had 'signed' agreement with £50m new Liverpool star as Levy and Conte left raging - Sources
Tottenham and Porto had a signed agreement for Luis Diaz to join in a £50million late-January transfer, Football Insider understands.
But the move collapsed amid a row over agents and Liverpool pounced to agree a deal at around the same price.
A recruitment source has told Football Insider that the only condition stopping Spurs from announcing Diaz as a blockbuster signing days ago was the signature of the player himself.
He had been keen to sign for the London giants and had indicated he would put pen to paper before his Colombian representative stalled the deal.
He is said to have objected when it became clear that super-agent Jorge Mendes had the mandate from Porto to administer Diaz's transfer from Porto.
Tottenham chiefs, including chairman Daniel Levy and managing director Fabio Paratici, were convinced they had everything in place to complete the deal.
But it fell through while Diaz was on international duty for Colombia and his agent then vetoed the deal.
This opened the door for Liverpool to make a move for a player they had originally been keen on signing in the summer window.
The Anfield recruitment team led by departing sporting director Michael Edwards and his deputy Julian Ward learned Diaz was enthusiastic about the prospect of playing for Jurgen Klopp and at an established Champions League giant.
Liverpool agreed virtually the same price as Spurs, with £37.5m to be paid up front plus £12.5m of add-ons.
Personal terms on a five-and-a-half years agreement were settled and Diaz then completed a medical in Argentina last weekend overseen by an Anfield delegation led by club doctor Jim Moxon.