Barcelona reportedly came close to hijacking Liverpool's deal to sign winger Luis Diaz in January.

The 25-year-old moved from Porto to Anfield on deadline day for a fee which could potentially rise up to £50m, after rejecting a potential switch to Tottenham Hotspur.

However, Spanish news outlet El Pais, via Marca, reports that Barca has been keeping tabs on Diaz for several months and they were keen to sign him in January along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Adama Traore.

The report adds that the failure to sell Ousmane Dembele, who is out of contract in the summer, meant that any potential deal for Diaz to join the Catalan giants would not be financially feasible.

A source from El Pais said: "In this transfer window another attacker could have come to Camp Nou, but Dembele's rejection of an exit before his contract ending ruined the club's plans.

"They had reached an agreement to sign Luis Diaz, the Porto winger who joined Liverpool."

Diaz made his Liverpool debut as a substitute against Cardiff City in the FA Cup last weekend, before starting his first match for the club in the 2-0 Premier League win over Leicester City on Thursday night. body check tags ::