Stoke have tied up the signing of Liverpool midfielder Salif
Diao on a three-month loan after agreeing what percentage of his
wages to pay.
The 29-year-old agreed to the switch over the weekend and trained
with the Potters for the first time on Monday.
Now, the two clubs have come to an agreement over how much of
Diao's £40,000-a-week wages Stoke will pay and the Senegal
international is in line to make his debut in Saturday's trip to
face Leeds.
Diao admits his career at Liverpool is over after falling out of
favour at Anfield and he sees the move as a chance to prove people
wrong who have labelled him a flop.
"My career at Liverpool is over, but not my career in England," he
told the Stoke Sentinel.
"I feel I have something to prove, especially in England, because
apart from my first year at Liverpool I have been unlucky with
injuries.
"Sometimes you read in the papers that you are a flop and that
hurts you a lot.
"I'm a very proud person and that's one of the reasons I want to
stay in England. I know I'm a better player than you have
seen."
"I love the passion of the people here and I want to stay in this
country long-term instead of moving abroad."
Diao also insists he has no problem dropping down a division to the
Championship.
"Sometimes you have to go down to be able to jump higher. I've
already done that before and I am just happy to be here. I am
impressed by everything, and everyone was happy for me to be here,"
he added.
Potters boss Tony Pulis claims the signing proves just how
ambitious the club are, despite their lowly position in the
league.
"He is only on loan, but I still hope this is the kind of signing
that will convince people how serious the club is about our future
ambitions," he said.
"We are absolutely delighted to sign a player of Salif's quality
and we are extremely grateful to Liverpool for agreeing to the
deal.
"Salif is a lovely kid and one, hopefully, champing at the bit and
with something to prove to our benefit.
"He can play at the back, but I see him more as a midfielder for
us. He's an all-action type of player, very competitive and a good
passer of the ball.
"We've done our homework and checked him out fitness-wise as you'd
expect. He seems to be 100 per cent and is on course to be in
Saturday's squad for Leeds away.
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_1582363,00.html
Let's wish him all the best. 