West Ham boss David Moyes admits they were close to signing Liverpool attacker Luis Diaz.
The Hammers manager - whose men host Wolves on Sunday - will now face £37million Dias when they go to Anfield next weekend.
Confirming Dias could have been lining up against the Reds, Moyes 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."
Although West Ham had already reached the last 16 of the Europa League and were pushing for the top four when the two parties held talks, it wasn't enough for Dias who initially opted to go to Spurs before they too were swept aside by Liverpool.
Moyes went on: “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.
“I had a conversation with Luis on the phone. With an interpreter and his agent. I really hoped that he was going to choose West Ham.
“We didn't get him but our ambition to sign the best players to improve West Ham is good. I want to make us better and I don't want it to be mediocre if I can help it.
"Sometimes you just need to be patient and hope you can get the right things at the right time.
"That's the way I've chosen to make my decisions here, rather than bringing in people who are not quite going to fit the bill."
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