Liverpool winger Luis Diaz is having a strong season under Arne Slot. The scorer of 12 goals so far this season, the Colombian has gone to another level.

He has not always played off the left flank, either. Diaz has operated through the middle as a number nine. "If we have more injuries like we have at the moment then that could happen," Slot said after doing it for the first time against Bayer Leverkusen. "It also depends on who is available and how the other team lines up and what the formation is."

Since then, though, Diogo Jota has been absent with two injuries and Darwin Nunez remains inconsistent. As a result, Diaz has been deployed down the middle more and more.

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Now, speaking to Sports Illustrated, he has revealed his inspirations in soccer. "Leo Messi because I grew up watching him play. Neymar... incredible player. I would try to imitate him. And the third player would be Mohamed Salah. Incredible," Diaz said.

"Salah is a machine. He has a great mentality. You know something will happen when he has the ball, he will either get an assist or score a goal in any game, and he has that mentality that in the next game, he will score a couple more. These are the players that help you grow and you enjoy watching them.

"I remember during my first year here, Liverpool's front three was Bobby [Firmino], Sadio [Mane] and Mo Salah. You obviously learn so much. These are players that even though they've won everything, they still try to teach you. 'You can improve here,' or 'Take your shot like this.'

"Those small details make all the difference and of course you still need to work on that on the pitch. There are many ways to work on it and improve your finishing, how to reach the goal better, and all of those small things that make a lot of sense."

Liverpool.com says: Salah just has to be up there, and Messi too. Neymar, meanwhile, is quite stylistically similar to Diaz when he plays out on the wing. Both have that South American flair with their dribbling and tendency to drift inside towards goal.