Ahead of Liverpool’s return to competitive play, Jürgen Klopp spoke on Friday about the schedule of his Africa Cup stars, new signing Luis Diaz – and a “not-yet-transfer”.
On Sunday, Jürgen Klopp faces a complicated television evening. With Sadio Mané (Senegal) and Mo Salah (Egypt), two of his charges face each other in the Africa Cup final. “One of them will definitely be very happy afterwards, the other much less so,” Liverpool’s coach gave a low-risk prediction on Friday. “But both have a good chance to do something really big. We will definitely look at that. “
Mané and Salah could be back in action as early as Thursday, when Liverpool return to Premier League action after 18 days with a home game against Leicester. “The winner will be back on Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest, the other a bit earlier.” Klopp doesn’t have to worry about a lack of rhythm anyway: “They’ve definitely done a few games!” he joked.
Klopp: Which would be “quite strange” with Luis Diaz
The Reds will once again be without their top striker in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against second division side Cardiff. And Luis Diaz will probably not play a role then either. The 45-million-euro newcomer from FC Porto should first get used to his new surroundings.
“If he were to step onto the pitch now, immediately at his top level and better than everyone else, that would be quite strange,” Klopp said. “We’ve been working together here for a while and of course it takes time for him to adapt.” He was not talking “about four or five months”, but had not even seen him since the switch. “Maybe we should wait a little bit. “
In principle, Klopp sees Diaz as an “outstanding player” with the necessary skills and character “for a really good career” – “and we want him to have that here with us. We brought him in because we like pretty much everything about him. “
Carvalho? “We are still interested – it would be crazy if not “
The fact that the Colombian is “already” 25 years old doesn’t bother Klopp. “Today there are 16-, 17-year-olds at the highest level, he may be something of a late bloomer. But they very often blossom quite outstandingly.” There are also “special stories” behind some of the players in Liverpool’s squad, he said. “I like that.”
To sign Fabio Carvalho as well, Liverpool had run out of time on Deadline Day. But interest in the 19-year-old attacker from Fulham FC continues unabated. “We are still interested – it would be crazy if we weren’t,” Klopp said, well aware that the competition is unlikely to be smaller in the summer. “We will see what happens. “
