Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders said today the whole club are behind “always smiling” Luis Diaz amid his difficult ongoing family situation in Colombia.
Lijnders refused to describe specifics but said that the club feel they are “doing the right thing”.
Diaz’s parents were reportedly kidnapped in his native Colombia over the weekend and while his mother has been rescued his father is still missing.
Lijnders also confirmed that both Thiago and Stefan Bajčetić are unavailable for Liverpool Carabao Cup clash against Bournemouth tomorrow night.
Curtis Jones is available and in contention to start while Ben Doak returned to training yesterday but may not yet be ready to play.
Lijnders praised the “one club mentality” at Liverpool describing the “open pathway” that has been created for the youth players at Liverpool.
He credited Academy Director Alex Inglethorpe and U23s manager Barry Lewtas for the tactical and stylistic continuity between Liverpool’s academy and the first team.
When asked if the move to the AXA training centre three years ago had helped this, Lijnders said: “Buildings are buildings, it’s about the people who sit in them.”
He reinforced his praise for the whole of Liverpool’s coaching set up, adding: “We believe in this process.”
Liverpool take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium tomorrow night in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup and all indications are that the Reds will field a much changed XI.
The Reds have made it past the fourth round four times under Klopp, most recently winning the competition in 2022.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth have only made it past the fourth round twice in the last 10 seasons, making the quarter final in 2021.
Liverpool have won eight of their last nine games against Bournemouth in all competitions, with their only loss coming last time Liverpool visited the Vitality Stadium.
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