Jurgen Klopp has hailed the immediate impact Luis Diaz has made at Liverpool – and named the six teammates who have quickly struck up a strong friendship with the electric Colombian winger.
The Reds raided FC Porto in January to bring in the forward in a deal that could eventually reach £54m. However, the money already looks cash well spent, with Diaz hitting the ground running for Liverpool. Indeed, he already has five goals and three assists from just 16 appearances for the club.
Diaz was also named Man of the Match after stepping off the Liverpool bench against Villarreal on Tuesday. That’s after he helped turn around a testing situation and help the Reds recover from 2-0 down to seal a 5-2 aggregate win.
That booked the Reds’ third Champions League final appearances in five seasons. They next face Real Madrid in the final, handing his teammate Mohamed Salah the perfect chance to gain revenge.
As for Diaz, though, he looks to now be undroppable from Klopp’s first-choice XI. It’s little wonder Rio Ferdinand has branded the player his signing of the season.
His transition into the Liverpool ethos is especially impressive given he’s playing in a new country and a new league.
Furthermore, speaking very little English does not appear to have hindered the star.
Assessing his impact, Klopp is clearly very impressed. He’s also named the six teammates that have quickly struck up friendships with Diaz.
Klopp wowed by impact of Luis Diaz
The Colombian star speaks Spanish and also played in Portugal for a fair few seasons. That has helped him communicate with Alisson, Thiago, Adrian and Roberto Firmino. However, it’s two other friendships that have baffled Klopp.
He said on Diaz: “Thiago, Bobby, Ali, Adrian have all helped him. He’s also really close to Curtis Jones and Harvey (Elliott), I have no idea how they talk. On an emotional basis, they are like this [locks fingers] and they were after a week and it’s really strange.”
Given his impact…