Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has hinted that new signing Luis Diaz will not make his debut for the club in Sunday's FA Cup tie with Cardiff City.
The 25-year-old penned a five-and-a-half year deal with the Merseyside giants in the final knockings of the January transfer window, with Liverpool forking out as much as €60m (£49.9m) to prise him away from Porto.
Diaz completed his transfer while on World Cup 2022 Qualifying duty with Colombia, and Klopp has seemingly confirmed that the weekend will be too early for the ex-Porto man to pull on the red jersey.
Speaking to reporters at his pre-match press conference, Klopp said: "If he was to come here and play his best football straight away that would be really strange. He needs time. I don't speak about 4-5 months, but he needs time. I haven't seen him here yet.
"We like pretty much everything about him. I've followed him for a while - exceptional. Skillset and character. Really happy we could get him in now. His story so far is a special one. I like that. Now he's one of us. We can't wait to welcome him here."
Diaz left Porto after registering 41 goals and 19 assists in 125 appearances for the club, but he could not prevent Colombia suffering 1-0 defeats to Peru and Argentina during the recent break.
Ben Knapton
