Coates became Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish's seventh signing of the summer earlier in the week when he completed his £7 million switch to Liverpool from Nacional after being granted a work permit.
The 20-year-old Uruguay international was widely expected to be given time to settle in at Anfield before being introduced to Premier League action. But Clarke believes that the centre back is ready for first-team action now after winning the Young Player of the Tournament at this summer's Copa America, in which his country were triumphant."He's a full international and Uruguay are amongst the top five in the world, so they're a strong international team," Clarke told the club's official website.
"He's a talented youngster and gives us different options at the back. He's ready to play if required, but we've also got many other centre-halves ready to play if required."You never really know how a foreign player coming into the English game is going to adapt. Some take a long time to adjust, while others like Luis Suarez come in and settle straight away." You just keep an eye on it and hope the boy settles quickly, gets to know his team-mates, gets a few chances to play and then you build on it from there.
"It'll be a different challenge for him because the English Premier League is a league that takes a little bit of getting used to, so hopefully we can nurse him along, get him ready and he'll be a valuable addition to the squad."
Source: DSG
