Jurgen Klopp relishing working with January signing Luis Diaz and says Liverpool retain interest in Fabio Carvalho | Football News
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is relishing the prospect of working with Luis Diaz and says the club remain interested in Fabio Carvalho after failing to get a deal over the line before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Colombia attacker Diaz – a long-standing target for Klopp – completed his move to Anfield from Porto on Sunday in a deal worth an initial £37million, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract.
Diaz, who has been away on international duty, has yet to arrive at Liverpool’s Melwood training complex and his inclusion in Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie with Cardiff looks unlikely, but Klopp cannot wait to link up with a player who he says possesses “exceptional” attributes.
“We signed him because we like pretty much everything about him, that is how it is,” Klopp told his press conference on Friday.
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Sky Sports’ Nick Wright explains what Porto’s Luis Diaz will bring to Liverpool if the winger’s proposed transfer is completed.
“I have followed him now for a while, not only since we played them [Porto] twice in the Champions League. He is an exceptional player; he has the speed, the skillset, the character to have a really good career. We all want him to have this career with us.
“Nowadays you have 16, 17-year-old boys playing at the highest level, maybe he is a bit of a late bloomer [Diaz is 25], but the bloom is exceptional.
“I am really happy that we could get him in now and we can help him, and he can help us. His story is a special one, I like players with special stories behind them. Now he is one of us and we can’t wait to welcome him here and started working together.”
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Portuguese Football Expert Filipe Dias says that Luis Diaz will fit in perfectly at Liverpool, with him being the type of player Jurgen Klopp likes as they close in on signing the Porto winger.
Klopp insisted Diaz will need time adjust to his new surrounding at Liverpool, adding: “If Luis were to come here, step on the pitch and be immediately at his absolute best and playing better than all the other players would be really strange because we’ve played together for a while.
“He needs time. I haven’t even seen him yet, he’s not here at the training ground, so maybe we should wait a little bit.
“But we are really happy and excited about the signing; it is a really good sign that we work on all fronts to improve this team. In football, we have to be successful now and, in the future, he can help with both and that is a really good thing.”
Klopp: Liverpool still interested in Carvalho
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Liverpool target Fabio Carvalho has torn up the Championship in the 2021/22 season. Watch all his goals and assists.
Liverpool’s successful pursuit of Diaz contrasted with their failed last-ditch attempt to sign Fulham winger Carvalho on Deadline Day.
It means the teenager will see out the final months of contract at Craven Cottage before becoming a free agent in the summer, when Klopp admits Liverpool will still be interested.
“We are still interested; it would be crazy if not,” the Liverpool boss added. “But at the moment it’s not in our own hands.
“[Fulham boss] Marco Silva said it all in his press conference, this kind of deal was late in the transfer window, and it didn’t work out in the end. We will see what happens.”
‘Salah or Mane can achieve something great’
Sadio Mane’s Senegal and Mohamed Salah’s Egypt meet in the AFCON final on Sunday, live on Sky Sports
With Diaz not expected to feature and Carvalho not through the door, Liverpool will also be without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane for Sunday’s visit of Cardiff, though Klopp does expect them back for next week’s Premier League visit of Leicester.
The talismanic pair have helped their respective nations, Egypt and Senegal, reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place in Cameroon on Sunday – live on Sky Sports.
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Highlights of the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final between Cameroon and Egypt.
Klopp revealed he has been following the tournament – in which Liverpool and Guinea midfielder Naby Keita also featured – closely, and expressed his excitement and anxiety ahead of seeing two of his players compete for continental glory.
“I have nothing planned yet [for the team to watch the AFCON final] but we have followed it closely,” Klopp said. “It’s a great achievement for both getting to the final.
“Naby [Keita] had an exceptional tournament as well, unfortunately he picked up a suspension for yellow cards and missed a decisive game for Guinea, otherwise they would have had a good chance to go a little further as well.
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Highlights of the African Cup of Nations semi-final match between Burkina Faso and Senegal.
“So far, it’s been a really successful tournament for our boys. The final will be exciting but not so easy watching the game because one will definitely be really happy after it, and the other one much less so. Both have a good chance to achieve something really great.”
As for a timeframe on the returns of Salah and Mane, Klopp added: “I think they will be available for Thursday. Whichever one wins will probably fly back to their home country for celebrations. Whoever wins will be back here Tuesday or Wednesday.”
