Whelan issues bold Luis Diaz claim after ‘sensational’ Liverpool latest
Noel Whelan has backed Luis Diaz to score more than 15 goals for Liverpool this season after he opened his account for the new campaign.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the 25-year-old will rise to the “real challenge” of replacing prolific star Sadio Mane at Anfield.
Diaz scored a stunning solo goal to rescue a point for 10-man Liverpool in a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Monday (15 August).
As quoted by The Guardian (14 August), manager Jurgen Klopp backed Diaz to “definitely” score 15 goals this term as he looks to replace the output of the departed Sadio Mane.
The Colombia international, who joined the Reds for a reported initial fee of £37million, scored six goals in 26 outings in the second half of the 2021-22 season.
Whelan suggested the former Porto man “brings more” to Liverpool than “just goals and assists”.
He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “There’s pressure on him.
“However, he brings more to Liverpool than just assists and goals. His presence is important, his cleverness with the ball, his energy – and he’s flamboyant, which we all love to see.
“Ultimately, he won’t need Klopp to come out and set targets for him. He will be wanting to score well into the double figures this season.
“There’s no reason why he shouldn’t score 15. There’s a real challenge for him there, to succeed Mane.
“But I think he’s up for it, and we saw that last season when they were competing for places.
“He wants to be scoring and assisting and making things happen for Liverpool when things don’t go their way.”
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