Coates & Bellamy available for Stoke


Video: Dalglish on Craig Bellamy, and Andy Carroll’s fitness

Liverpool’s two new signings, centre back Sebastien Coates and striker Craig Bellamy are both available for the teams trip to Stoke City this Saturday.

6ft 5inch Uruguayan Coates joined late in the transfer window from Nacional for £7m, while Craig Bellamy returned to the club on a free transfer from Man City to provide extra support up front and out wide.

Dalglish on Coates: “Sebastian was on Damien’s radar for two years. Obviously he would have only been 18 then. He came to prominence in the Copa America when he won it with Uruguay and was voted Young Player of the Tournament – and that’s not a bad accolade when you consider (Alexis) Sanchez went for 40 million to Barcelona. He must have played well! We’re happy to have him in. We just need to give him time to settle down and we look forward to it.

Dalglish on Bellamy: “He’s really enthusiastic at being back and made a lot of sacrifices to come back, financially and otherwise, because of what the club means to him. We’re delighted to have people with that attitude here.”

“I don’t know why I’ve never signed him before in my managerial career. Maybe I wasn’t working when he was available. He’s always been somebody that has impressed me.

“He’s got pace, quality, he loves this club – which is very important – and he’ll be a fantastic asset for us.”

Dalglish on Stoke: “It’s a really difficult place to go and play, Tony Pulis has done a fantastic job and we’ve got to go there in the right frame of mind. “We know what we’re going to be up against, which isn’t a problem as far as I’m concerned. I’m not going to dictate to anybody or preach to anybody how they should play. It’s their football club and Tony Pulis runs it brilliantly.

“They’ve got into Europe this year and they’ve got a style of play that suits them very well – and it’s a great credit to them that they have done so well. It’s up to us to compete against them.”

Dalglish is confident midfielder Charlie Adam will shake off an injury he picked up on international duty with Scotland to face the Potters.

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