Reds welcome Luis Diaz as Cardiff City date looms large

Liverpool FC welcome Luis Diaz to Anfield as Jürgen Klopp prepares his side for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth round clash against Cardiff City FC at Anfield.

He’s a player that Jürgen Klopp and his backroom team have been monitoring for a while, and the Liverpool FC manager could not be happier to welcome Luis Diaz to Merseyside.

The Colombian star joined the Reds from FC Porto at the weekend, with Klopp enthusing about the qualities the 25-year-old can bring to the club ahead of this Sunday’s FA Cup fourth round clash against Cardiff City FC at Anfield.

“I have always been a believer in only signing players in January if you would want to sign them in the summer, and that’s very much the case with Luis,” said the boss.

“He is an outstanding player and someone we’ve been tracking for a very long time.

“We believe he has everything needed to fit into our way and adapt to the Premier League, both physically and mentally. He is a player who is hungry for success and knows you have to fight to get what you want. He is a fighter, no doubt. He’s a skilful team player who has always the goal in mind.”

Diaz’s qualities will be familiar to fans of Liverpool FC, with the attacker having twice faced the Reds in this season’s UEFA Champions League group stages.

Klopp said: “This team deserved to add quality and when we played against Luis earlier this season, we saw what a danger he is, how fast he is and how his mentality was to help his team.

“Luis is a player we believe will make us better now and in the future. He is the player we really wanted and [the recruitment team have] made it happen, so I am very happy.”

Nathaniel Phillips and Neco Williams, meanwhile, have both left the club on loan deals until the end of the season with Phillips heading to AFC Bournemouth and Williams moving to the Cherries’ fellow promotion hopefuls Fulham FC.

James Milner, meanwhile, has expressed his gratitude at being able to call Mohamed Salah a teammate of his.

The Egyptian is currently in action at the African Cup of Nations, as well as his Reds team-mate Sadio Mané, having scored a remarkable 23 goals for Liverpool FC before taking up his international commitments.

Milner feels he is playing with, arguably, the best player in the world right now.

"For me, he is right up there – the goals he's scoring, the numbers he's putting up consistently, goals and assists,” said Milner.

"Obviously I might be slightly biased – and I'm blessed as well because I get to train with him every day and see how good he is in training as well – but I think he has to be the best over the recent months and hopefully long may it continue.

"He's special. Some of the goals he's scoring at times, you just have to stop and applaud them really."

Salah’s Egypt will face hosts Cameroon in Thursday’s AFCON semi-final, while Mané and Senegal are in action against Burkina Faso in the other last four clash on Wednesday night.

Takumi Minamino has also been in international action for Japan, and scored a vital opener in his side’s 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia in a World Cup qualifier.

Japan are now just one win away from securing a place in this winter’s FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar.

Finally, captain Jordan Henderson has been speaking about the intensity that is needed to make the most of a career in the Liverpool FC first team.

Hendo is currently enjoying his 11th season in the Reds’ first team and recently sat down with Nike to explain how he continues to look for marginal gains both on and off the pitch.

You can watch the interview in full here.