Since Liverpool started getting interested in the signing of Luis Diaz from Porto, the Portuguese media always claimed that the Dragons wouldn’t want to lose the player in the middle of the season.
With the club currently top of the league table, there’s of course a chase for the title, which had been one of the biggest arguments why manager Sérgio Conceição asked the board to keep their main star.
Porto, however, ended up agreeing to Diaz’s sale to the Reds, and the coach didn’t mind telling the local media that he was not happy with the decision.
“In big companies and big clubs, planning is done according to the objectives. When there is little or no planning, we have to review the goals and think about the near future,” said Conceição (via SIC Notícias).
“I’m demanding and, at the moment, the truth is that it’s more difficult, but it’s part of my job to find solutions. It’s looking to the future and realising that our goals may become more difficult to achieve.”
Luis Diaz had 16 goals and six assists in 29 appearances for Porto this season, and was by far their most important player in the league and European campaigns.
With the Dragons not making any big signings in the January window, it’s now left for Sérgio Conceição to find an in-house solution and keep the team going strong this season.
He added: “We’re talking about four important players who have left in recent years, including Corona, Sérgio Oliveira and Luis Díaz, who were among the best players in the league in recent years and had their weight in the team.
“Today there were two full-backs, two goalkeepers, two defenders and two boys from the academy on the bench. It’s part of my job, to find solutions in a very difficult situation, where the financial aspect was clearly stronger than sporting success.”
