Jürgen Klopp has described Luis Díaz’s transfer as evidence of Liverpool preparing for the future and for “pretty much all scenarios” with regard to their current forward line. Liverpool beat Tottenham to the signing of the exciting Colombia international in a deal that could rise to €60m, making Díaz the fourth most expensive recruit in the club’s history.
Klopp expects the 25-year-old to have an immediate impact at Anfield and may hand the winger a debut against Cardiff in the FA Cup on Sunday. But the Liverpool manager also believes the club have protected themselves in the long-term with the deal for Díaz, with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino all in the final 17 months of their contracts.
“First and foremost nothing happened apart from we brought in a really good player,” Klopp said. “It’s really nice to have these kind of options. We constantly prepare for today and for tomorrow as well. That is what our job has to be. The reaction of the players is always that they have to perform at the highest level.
“Our players, even when we had injuries and only three available up front, they pushed themselves to an extreme extent absolutely all the time and that is why we were pretty successful in the last few years.
“But we cannot hope that we get through this with three or four players. We need options and we need help. All development includes fresh blood as well and that’s what we did with Diogo [Jota] when he came here and now when we signed Luis it is exactly the same.
“Players might have plans for their future but a club has to be ready for pretty much all scenarios and that’s what we do between playing games all the time. This club is too big to rely on single persons, whether that’s me or a player, and has to be ready for all different scenarios. We feel in a good place at this moment.”
Díaz arrived in Liverpool on Friday. He still requires a work permit before being able to join the squad but, despite the process and recent international commitments, Klopp has not ruled out Díaz featuring on Sunday. The Liverpool manager, who will include Harvey Elliott in his squad for the first time since the 18-year-old dislocated an ankle in September, added: “If he had been here yesterday he could have trained a little bit and I would have definitely considered it. I don’t know, give me a second to meet him and to ask him how his last two or three days were!
“It’s not easy to sit around in Paris waiting for the papers. It is not the best time in your life and doesn’t help you with recovery from the intense period he had with two games for Colombia and massive travel. I wouldn’t say no because I would be excited as well about giving him a few minutes in a sold-out Anfield, but let’s see.”
