Ronald Araújo has said he is "really happy" to be at Liverpool but it is "too early" to say whether he will make his loan move from Barcelona permanent.
The defender's season-long loan move to Anfield was one of the surprise transfers of the summer after he endured a challenging season with the La Liga champions.
However, he has impressed playing at both right-back and centre-back under Andoni Iraola and Liverpool have a £47.2 million ($62.8m) option to make his signing permanent at the end of the campaign.
"It's very early to talk about these things," Araujo said in a news conference ahead of the Reds' Champions League clash with Villareal. "I'm just trying to enjoy every day, continue to grow and develop every day to have that confidence. I'm really happy to be here, my family are also very happy.
"But it's a bit early to be talking about these things."
Reflecting on his start to life on Merseyside, the Uruguay international added: "To be honest, it surprises me because you know how big Liverpool are but when you get here and see the dimension of this club, the structure, the fans, you know it's a gigantic team.
"I'm very happy because since I arrived I've been welcomed just as another player, not just by the people at the club but the fans. I am very grateful to them. I want to give back to them by giving everything in training and every match."
Liverpool have won both of their games in the Champions League so far this season and will hope to keep that record going against Villareal, who are managed by Inigo Perez -- Iraola's assistant coach at Rayo Vallecano.
Perez was initially due to join Iraola at Bournemouth in 2023 before work permit issues prevented the move.
"For me it is a special game because he is my friend," Iraola said. "We have known each other since the academy of Athletic Club, from the first team together, and as soon as he retired I asked him to help me as an assistant at Rayo.
"We've been through a lot together. He knows me very well, he knows everything, and it's also a team I follow in LaLiga. It is going to be strange.
"It's not good for your relationship when these games happen. We usually talk a lot but when you know you are going to be facing each other you talk a lot less. We usually talk about the Premier League, LaLiga, our families, everything, but as this game has got closer we haven't been in touch as much."
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Liverpool are set to be without Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong for Tuesday's clash after both players were forced off with injuries in the Reds' 2-1 victory over Brentford at the weekend.
"I think there are different circumstances," Iraola said. "Jeremie Frimpong has a new, massive injury that happened, I think, in the second or third minute he was playing and it was difficult to predict.
"We will have to wait until he recovers but I think it is going to be difficult [to return] before the international break. We will try but it is going to be difficult to have him.
"Dom Szobsozlai is different, it's not a new injury. I think he is in the same place he was probably the past week. It hasn't worsened the injury but we probably have to be a little bit more patient until he recovers fully.
"But it is not like something where he has to wait a lot of time to come back. He is more or less in the same situation he was in the past week.
"But we need more patience with him and I appreciate the effort he made the other day to be available, to want to contribute in a very difficult game that you know is going to be very physical."
