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‘He is an exceptional player’: Klopp thinks ‘special’ Liverpool talent can become an Anfield star
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has lauded Anfield newcomer Luis Diaz, describing him as an “exceptional” player.
The Reds snapped up the Colombia international last Sunday from Porto for an initial £37million.
Diaz, a long-term target for Klopp, has penned a five-and-a-half year contract at Anfield.
Tottenham had also submitted an offer to sign Diaz, which prompted Liverpool to move quickly for the 25-year-old.
Now a Reds player, Klopp can’t wait for the talented winger to begin his Anfield career.
“We signed him because we like pretty much everything about him, that is how it is,” Klopp told his press conference on Friday, via .
“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, 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.”
“He needs time”
Klopp also called for patience towards Diaz, who could need some time to acclimatise to the Premier League.
“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 added.
“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.”
Diaz has made a name for himself as one of the hottest talents in Europe over the past few years.
The 25-year-old has an impressive 16 goals and six assists from 28 club appearances in all competitions this term.
Last season, he produced 11 goals and six assists in all competitions for the Portuguese giants.
Diaz then excelled for Colombia at last summer’s Copa America.
He ended the competition with four goals, the joint-top scorer alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi.