Luis Diaz names Liverpool target he has set for himself this season

Luis Diaz is determined to top his brilliant beginning at by chalking up his most impressive season performance yet. With five goals and an assist in Liverpool's opening seven Premier League matches, he's eager to surpass last year's 13-goal record.

, nearing a three-year stint with the Reds, spoke of how vital it is to him: "Let's hope so, that's the idea," said Diaz. "I always think about helping the team, which is the most important thing. I think it's a good number. I always try to get better each year, to improve on what I did the previous one, and the goals and assists come on their own."

, Diaz is converting opportunities into goals with greater frequency. While some Liverpool fans have aired their frustrations, feeling Diaz could have tallied more than the 29 goals since his $49 million transfer from Porto in January 2022, no one disputes his sheer delight for the game—a joy rooted in his childhood in Barrancas, La Guajira, Colombia.

Reflecting on those early days and a particularly memorable incident, Diaz recalls: "The toenail story, yes," he said. "It was great. When we were playing on a pitch in front of my grandmother's house, all we cared about was playing football and having a good time.

"It used to be a dirt pitch, with stones, poor quality, but we were happy and we would play there. That's where the story about my toenail comes in. There were too many stones and the ground was too dirty. I hit the ball wrong and my toenail came off.

"I said, 'I don't mind, I want to keep playing'. I wanted to keep playing, that's all I wanted to do. I don't know, I really didn't care much about anything else. I put a plaster on and carried on playing."

Diaz recalls his childhood in Barrancas, northern Colombia, crediting it for his drive to succeed, as everyone there aimed to better their lives. "La Guajira is the best thing that's ever happened to me," he shared with UEFA.com.

"Barrancas is a place I'm proud of, knowing that I was born there, knowing that I came from there. The fact that my roots are in Barrancas has always been something that I've been proud of."

He speaks fondly of the community spirit in Barrancas: "Most people there know each other, they get along very well. They're determined people, they also strive to better themselves.

"No matter how few opportunities they get and how little they have, they're always trying to live life with a smile on their faces, trying to forge the best path forward for themselves, trying to be happy with what they have. They're always cheerful, they're always trying to forge the best path forward for themselves."