Darwin Núñez and Luis Díaz are seemingly living in each other’s pockets at Liverpool, and the relationship can surely Jürgen Klopp’s attacking line-up take shape.
Luis Díaz has revealed that he is practically joined at the hip to one of his Liverpool teammates in training each day.
The Colombian marked his return to Jürgen Klopp’s starting line-up on Sunday with an early goal in the Reds’ dramatic 4-3 win against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.
It was Díaz’s first start since October 9 after a serious knee injury wrecked his season, but he is now back in the fold and determined to finish a disappointing season as strongly as possible, promising to give everything he has in the process.
Speaking to Liverpool’s official website, he said: “Since I arrived here, I’ve always wanted to give absolutely everything, 100 per cent all the time. It’s a dream come true, so I always want to be performing at my very best level.
“I’ve had some help too in the shape of my teammates who have helped me with getting used to the football and with the language and made me feel comfortable and at ease. They’ve made me feel at home in every single training session, and these were all important factors in my settling in much more quickly.
“But from the beginning and moving forward it was all about really wanting it and the desire to make progress and give my very best in each game. That’s pretty much it really. It’s no secret that it’s not been the season we would have all wanted. But we now have to all take stock and be aware of what we haven’t been doing so well in order to be able to turn things around and improve.
“That’s why we train every day and then with every game we analyze things in-depth. Then we can take these improvements that we work on into the next game and aim to put things right. We need to carry on doing that, to be focused and in the zone and stick together even more than ever, because we know that it’s down to us as a group of players to put things right.”
The 26-year-old hit the ground running on his arrival from FC Porto during the 2022 January transfer window, immediately becoming a fan favorite with his spellbinding performances.
But Díaz has already moved on from being Liverpool’s new boy to welcoming others to Anfield and the Spanish-speaking winger has struck up an extremely close relationship with summer signing Darwin Núñez.
The ex-Benfica star knows Díaz from their shared time in Portuguese football and that has helped the duo to strike up a rapport that could hold the Reds in good stead for the future.
Speaking about Núñez, Díaz said: “Right now, we are really close. We spend almost every second together from the moment we get into training to the minute we leave! It’s really cool having him as a teammate now and I’m really proud to be playing alongside him because I know just how good a player he is, and his ability and quality offers us so much as a team.
“Sharing a dressing room with such great players right now at this club has just been incredible for me. Everyone learns stuff from each other here in order to keep improving and stay in the right mindset for everything that lies ahead.
“We’ve chatted about big Porto-Benfica games where we’ve played against each other. They were always amazing encounters. It was always like a final when those two sides played each other. Everybody gave it absolutely everything and it was fantastic. We joked around about games and situations in games.
“It was fun, but now, having him on my side, it’s just amazing because I know very well just what qualities he can bring to the party and I know he’s going to contribute massively.”
Recently, Jürgen Klopp admitted that Núñez, who has not started any of Liverpool’s last five matches, was still getting to grips with learning English, but a close relationship with key playmaker Díaz could be just what the Uruguayan needs to produce the goods for the Reds on a more consistent basis.
Liverpool.com says: Competition is fierce for a place in Liverpool’s forward line right now, with five big-name players vying for three starting positions. Núñez is having to be patient during The Reds’ recent upturn in form but if his close relationship with Díaz continues to blossom on the pitch as well as it has off, then we could be looking at a deadly combination next season.
The Uruguayan must knuckle down to improve his grasp of the club’s native tongue, however, if he is to build similar bonds with his non-Spanish speaking teammates. But do that, and the full force of the new-look Liverpool attacking line-up could be unleashed.
