Jurgen Klopp says that there is a language barrier issue between himself and Luis Diaz at Liverpool, despite his blistering start at Anfield.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Liverpool boss says that the Colombian is still getting to grips with learning English – which is making communication difficult.
“There is a language issue with me. I do not speak Spanish and he (Diaz) does not speak English. He is learning. I am not learning so we will have to wait until his English gets better,” Klopp said.
After some recent reports that Klopp has plans to manage in Spain after leaving Liverpool, perhaps that should be encouraging to Liverpool fans!
Diaz still settling in
After the initial explosion of pace and power that Diaz brought to Liverpool, the 25-year-old has just simmered slightly over recent weeks.
He has struggled to get into the game in recent matches and hasn’t looked quite as threatening as he did after joining in late January.
However, that’s completely normal. Diaz has been a superb signing so far and will surely only get better as he gets to grips with the language and settles further into the city.
Klopp agrees with this and believes that there is much more to come from the £37.5m signing.
“Nothing has happened yet. Yes, the start has been really good. But he is a long-term project for us and we are a long-term project for him,” said Klopp. “There is loads more to come.”
The manager has spoken about just letting his new player go out and play his natural game. But Klopp will no doubt be looking forward to getting a full pre-season with Diaz to fully embed what he expects from him.
If Diaz is this good now, once Klopp has had time on the training pitch with him and he’s got a better grasp of the language, he’s going to be a frightening prospect.
The ex-Porto man’s signing has had something of a galvanising effect on Liverpool’s season. Since Diaz signed, the only game Liverpool have lost was against Inter Milan at Anfield, a result which saw them qualify for the quarter-final anyway.
Having become a Red, Diaz has seen his new team cut Manchester City’s lead at the top of the Premier League to a single point, win the Carabao Cup and make it to the FA Cup semi-final.
If this is just the beginning for Diaz, then Liverpool fans are in for a heck of a ride with the Colombian.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
