Moyes reveals the truth on Luis Diaz

David Moyes has confirmed that West Ham were close to signing Luis Diaz from Porto before he moved to Liverpool.

The winger was heavily linked with a potential move to Spurs before he eventually made the move to Anfield, and they were reported to have tabled a bid for the Colombia international.

Instead, he ended up with Jurgen Klopp’s side, who have already given him his first-team debut.

Diaz has played five times for the Reds, scoring once, and Moyes has now revealed that the Irons made a real push to secure his signature in January, with Moyes even speaking with the player on the phone in a bid to convince him to come to east London.

Speaking to reporters, he said: “It’s true. I spoke with Luis Diaz on the phone and we were quite far down the line to sign him from Porto. My understanding is Liverpool were going to come in for him in the summer, and I was going to try and get him in January. I don’t know if us trying to get him in January affected Liverpool’s decision but he’s a really good player.

“We didn’t get him in but our ambition to sign the best players to improve West Ham is good. I want to make us better and I don’t want it to be mediocre if I can help it. Sometimes you just need to be patient and hope you can get the right things at the right time. That’s the way I’ve chosen to make my decisions here, rather than bringing in people who are not quite going to fit the bill.  

“I had a conversation with Luis Diaz on the phone, with an interpreter and his agent. I really hoped that he was going to choose West Ham 

“We spoke with the agent in London and got it moving. Then other clubs came onto it. The club were ready to make offers for the correct players and sadly we didn’t quite get there.”