Clarke: Coates is ready now
Steve Clarke is confident Sebastian Coates is ready to answer the call when Kenny Dalglish decides to hand him his Liverpool debut.
The 20-year-old was signed from Nacional on a long-term contract on Tuesday to bolster the Reds' defensive ranks ahead of the close of the transfer window.
Coates arrives on Merseyside fresh from being crowned the Copa America's Young Player of the Tournament last month - and Clarke believes his assured performances in the competition bode well for his adjustment into the Barclays Premier League.
The first-team coach told Liverpoolfc.tv: "He's a talented youngster and gives us different options at the back.
"We look to sign young players that can improve and we looked at his performances throughout the Copa America when he was named Young Player of the Tournament. It's certainly exciting.
"It'll be a different challenge for him because the English Premier League is a league that takes a little bit of getting used to, so hopefully we can nurse him along, get him ready and he'll be a valuable addition to the squad.
"He's ready to play. He's a full international and Uruguay are amongst the top five in the world, so they're a strong international team.
"He's ready to play if required, but we've also got many other centre-halves ready to play if required."
Coates becomes the second Uruguayan to join Liverpool, following in the footsteps of compatriot Luis Suarez.
Suarez made a seamless transition to life in England after moving from Ajax in January, and Clarke is hoping Liverpool's new No.16 can follow suit.
He added: "You never really know how a foreign player coming into the English game is going to adapt. Some take a long time to adjust, while others like Luis Suarez come in and settle straight away.
"You just keep an eye on it and hope the boy settles quickly, gets to know his teammates, gets a few chances to play and then you build on it from there."
Coates will already have some familiarity with Britain as his father hails from north of the border - and Clarke is looking forward to chatting all things Scottish with the defender.
"I believe there is some Scottish heritage in him, so obviously Kenny and myself will do a bit of digging into his background," laughed Clarke. "But it's too late, he can't play for Scotland because he's already capped for Uruguay!"
Coates became Liverpool's sixth major signing of the summer ahead of Craig Bellamy's deadline day transfer, joining fellow new boys Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Alexander Doni, Stewart Downing and Jose Enrique.
The Reds' new arrivals have already made an impact in the early stages of the season, but Clarke is in no doubt there is much more to come from them.
"All over the team you can see little partnerships and combinations starting to form," he said. "We're basically a young team who are still getting to know each other and still working on strengths and weaknesses.
"Hopefully over a period of time we'll improve and the team performances will improve too."