download All Football App

Liverpool: Luis Diaz greeted by Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson upon arrival at Melwood

  /  autty

New Liverpool star Luis Diaz received a warm welcome from Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson upon his arrival at the club on Friday.

Diaz, 25, completed an initial £37.5million move to the Reds from Porto on transfer deadline day, snubbing their Premier League rivals Tottenham in the process.

The Colombia forward, who scored 16 goals for Porto in the first half of the season, only arrived on Merseyside at 10am on Friday after waiting for work permit forms in Paris.

He was able to finally meet Jurgen Klopp in person at their AXA Training Centre, while Van Dijk and Robertson were on hand with two big hugs to welcome him to the club.

Liverpool posted photos of the duo embracing Diaz on Twitter and wrote: 'Virg and Robbo are all of us'.

Diaz is in line to make his Liverpool debut against Cardiff in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

Despite only linking up with his new club on Friday morning, Klopp hinted that he could use his new recruit off the bench at Anfield.

‘It’s not easy to sit around in Paris waiting for the papers,’ Klopp said. ‘It is not the best time in your life and doesn’t help with recovery. Let’s have a look.

‘I wouldn’t say no because I would be excited as well about giving him a few minutes at a sold-out Anfield.’

Diaz had spent the last two-and-a-half years at Porto before Liverpool lured him to the Premier League, scoring 41 goals in 125 appearances for the Portuguese club.

He has also earned 33 caps for Colombia and bagged seven goals playing for his country, while picking up the Golden Boot at last year's Copa America.

'We are really happy and excited about the signing. It's just a really good sign that we work on all fronts to improve this team,' Klopp added.

'How it always is in football obviously, we have to be successful now and in the future, so he can help with both. That's a really good thing.

'We signed him because we like pretty much everything about him, that's how it is. I followed him now for a while, not only since we played them twice in the Champions League.

"He's an exceptional player. He has the speed, he has the skillset, he has the character to have a really good career. We all want him to have this career here with us. That's it.'