Premier League giants Liverpool should have considered Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson before stumping up £37 million for Porto winger Luis Diaz, Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony tells his Hard Truth Podcast.
Then again, the fact that it would take around £20 million to prize Johnson out of Forest may explain why Liverpool went abroad in pursuit of an exciting young forward.
Yes, Johnson has been one of the EFL’s most exciting up-and-coming talents in recent months.
Yes, he scored a lovely goal in the 4-1 FA Cup thrashing of Leicester City, only a few weeks after tearing Arsenal’s defence to shreds.
But the quicksilver Wales international also has just 30 Championship starts on his CV. Diaz, meanwhile, arrives as something a little closer to the finished article.
He scored 14 goals in 18 games while firing Porto to the Primeira Liga summit in the first half of this season.
He’s also produced a handful of dazzling performances on the Champions League stage and, last summer, finished alongside Lionel Messi as the joint top scorer at the 2021 Copa America.
Luis Diaz or Brennan Johnson?
“I’m happy for Liverpool to spend £50 million on Luis Diaz, you know, great, it’s fine,” says the outspoken MacAnthony.
The Peterborough chairman, it seems, is keen to point out that England’s biggest clubs don’t have to cast their net far and wide in pursuit of young talent.
“I’d have loved them to have spent £28 million on a player in the Championship. And then that player had a sell-on clause.
“People always say that English players are too expensive. Well, I’m sorry but for me, the Championship is as good as the Portuguese league.
“Diaz has scored, what, 15 goals and got 10 assists…I could show you a couple of players in the Championship capable of that.
“Brennan Johnson will probably be just as good as this player in the future. And he won’t get sold for £52 million. He’ll probably go for around £20 million.”
Steve Cooper’s upwardly-mobile Forest side managed to retain Johnson’s services despite heavy Premier League interest during the January transfer window.
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