David Moyes has revealed West Ham nearly trumped Liverpool to Luis Diaz’s capture.
Diaz joined the Anfield club for an initial fee in the region of £33 million after they acted quickly to prise the Porto forward away from Tottenham Hotspur.
The Colombia international is enjoying a flying start with Jurgen Klopp’s side and already scored his first goal in a 3-1 win over Norwich City last weekend.
But Moyes admits the Hammers almost stole a march on the Reds, who he claims were planning to hold off on signing the 25-year-old until the summer.
Asked about interest in the player, he said: “It’s true. I spoke with Luis Diaz on the phone and we were quite far down the line to sign him from Porto.
“My understanding is Liverpool were going to come in for him in the summer, and I was going to try and get him in January.
“I don’t know if us trying to get him in January affected Liverpool’s decision but he’s a really good player.
“I had a period where I thought we were on our own. We spoke with the agent in London and got it moving.
“Then other clubs came onto it. The club were ready to make offers for the correct players and sadly we didn’t quite get there.”