As Kostic Links Cool, Roma Looks to Porto's Luis Diaz

An attacking midfielder-cum-winger may not seem like a priority for Roma at the moment, but with subtle links to Eintracht Frankfurt combo-player Filip Kostic persisting for most of the summer, it seems like José Mourinho wants to increase Roma's options in attack for this coming season. Of course, adding a player with that profile would make a lot more sense if Tiago Pinto were able to find new homes for Javier Pastore and/or Pedro, but that's a discussion for another day.

In the here and now, with Roma approximately a week away from their first real friendly of the summer against Porto on the 28th, Pinto is reportedly primed to pluck from the Porto tree, setting his sights firmly on Colombian attacker Luis Diaz.

According to Colombian journalist Pipe Sierra, Roma is in the pole position for Diaz, a 24-year-old attacking midfielder. Capable of playing a variety of positions in attack, Diaz has flashed an impressive balance of scoring and creativity since signing with Porto in 2019, scoring 17 goals and providing eight assists in 76 appearances in all competitions.

Sierra claims that Roma is preparing a €25 million (plus bonuses) offer for Diaz, with the two sides set to continue negotiations prior to and during next week's friendly. While Sierra believes Porto is amenable to selling Diaz, €25 million may not be quite enough for the Dragons to part with him.

It's tough to tell where Diaz would slot into Mourinho's rotation in the short term, but you can never have too much versatility in attack, especially once the injury bug starts to bite. And while we can't claim to be experts on Diaz, there is a lot to like from his de rigueur “Welcome to Roma?” highlight reel—he definitely has that Mourinho swag to him.

Whether it's Diaz, Kostic, or someone else entirely, adding a combo attacker to the mix seems to be a priority for Mourinho and Pinto. Twenty-five million isn't small potatoes for Roma, so we can only assume there will be a corresponding exit if this move comes to pass.

Stay tuned, but in the meantime, would Diaz in a Roma shirt melt your butter?