Leicester City vs Liverpool team news: Claudio Ranieri rules out new signing Daniel Amartey

Claudio Ranieri has revealed Daniel Amartey will have to wait until the weekend trip to Manchester City to make his Leicester City debut, as the home game against Liverpool on Tuesday (2 February) will come too early for the club's new signing. The Italian boss also talked up the possibility of a new striker signing before the transfer window closes, but insisted that his only focus is the visit of the Merseysiders.

The Foxes face a crucial week in keeping their Premier League title dream alive with a home game against the Reds only four days before their trip to Manuel Pellegrini's side, who are currently second, three points behind them.

Ranieri has confirmed that Amartey will not be ready for the midweek game after completing his move from FC Copenhagen earlier in the transfer window. Meanwhile, the manager added that Jeff Schlupp and Matty James will also miss the game due to injuries, but Ritchie De Laet and Shinji Okazaki are available.

"[Amartey] is not ready for tomorrow but I think he could be ready for the next match at Manchester City," Ranieri said about the new January signing, as quoted by the Leicester Mercury.

"Schlupp is not ready yet. I think he will be back at the end of the month and everyone else is good. James had a little problem in the last match for the Under-21s. Now he has to wait another one or two weeks and then he will be with us."

The former Chelsea manager, meanwhile, said that the club are working to make a late signing in the form of a striker after Andrej Kramaric moved on loan to Hoffenheim.

"Always I'm positive but now, believe me, I am very focused on the next match," he said amid the links with Chelsea striker Loic Remy and Crystal Palace's Dwight Gayle.

"There are other people involved in the negotiations. Everything is done [identifying players] and now it is their job. My job is thinking about the team. [The squad] is enough because my team is so strong. It doesn't matter. If a player arrives or doesn't arrive, it's the same. If someone arrives I'm happy because these kind of players can help us. That's it. I am always confident."