Happy diaz Forward’s back in squad
‘FRESH
LEGS, FRESH MINDS’: Luis Diaz in full flow before his injury and (right) Liverpool boss Klopp
JURGEN KLOPP is going with the old adage that it will be like a new signing when Luis Diaz returns.
But the Liverpool boss will hope the Colombian’s comeback can be a catalyst for change amid a season of stutters. Following months out injured, Diaz will finally be back in the Reds’ matchday squad for tonight’s visit to Leeds. It would take a quite exceptional run of results for Klopp’s side to sneak into the Champions League places from here.
But an upswing in performances and consistent results would lift the mood and confidence around Anfield, where grey clouds have loomed for most of the campaign. It would give the Reds a strong finish to the season which would improve the feeling heading into a summer which is set to see new faces arrive and old ones leave. Diaz is a player who can help shift the mood.
When he arrived last January for £37.5million from Porto, he added more threat to the Reds’ attack, which signalled the start of a push for four trophies.
The flying forward has not featured since he suffered a knee injury in a 3-2 defeat by Arsenal in early October.
Struggles
That was Liverpool’s second defeat in the league and there were already signs then that it would be a season of struggles for the Reds.
But since then they have lost a further seven in the Premier League to turn them from titlechasers to also-rans.
Of course, his absence is not the only reason the Reds have faltered.
There has been a hangover from last term’s tilt for a wuadruple, a drop in performance from key men such as Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk, while the weaknesses of Trent Alexander-Arnold have been further exposed.
There are not many minutes to go this season but the return of Diaz may just give Klopp’s side a major boost.
As he prepared to take his side to Elland Road tonight near the end of a disappointing season, Klopp said: “We will bring in the right players, who want to fight for the badge, who want to fight with us, want to develop with us, then everything is fine.
“Fresh legs, fresh minds, we will be ready to fight again.”
Klopp rode a stormy press conference on Friday as he faced the music over his owners’ suggestion they will not be in the fight for Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham in the summer.
But he is prepared for the rebuild Liverpool need in the summer, and he insisted there is no point in getting emotional over the task ahead.
“We play a very average season, we have to do business in the market. We will do it,” he said.
“Spending in football combined with football knowledge will lead to improvement, that’s very likely.
“We will be ready to fight again, for whatever. You will see that.”
Klopp seemed surprised by the emotional reaction to the news on Bellingham – leaked out under curious circumstances – which appeared a huge own goal from the club’s owners.
But he said his job now is simple: to remove ALL emotion, and find the signings in the summer which will make his team a top-four certainty once more.
“We realise Manchester City didn’t get worse with Haaland, it was a good signing. But because Arsenal plays a good season there’s a big fight,” he added.
“We didn’t lose one game this year because of the other teams.
“We just have to sort it. And we will. Next year there’s space for us again, if we can get consistency.”