Jurgen Klopp insists it is difficult to bring new players before the window shuts, stating some existing stars have to depart first.
Jurgen Klopp retains a reputation of being one of the best football managers in Europe. He is never perceived as an overspender, and rightly so, although the German has never been shy to pay for the right player. Virgil Van Dijk, Alisson and a few others have cost a significant sum, but they proved the right investment over time.
Moreover, Klopp has never really bought in loads of players in a single window, and during his time as Liverpool boss, he has always plugged gaps in the team with quality buys. It took him two or three windows to assemble his now-famous front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
His approach has certainly worked at Liverpool, with most of the current players winning the Champions League and Premier League titles. They are again considered in the same bracket as Chelsea and Manchester City for the coming season despite not making any significant forays into the transfer market.
Ibrahima Konate has been the only player signed in this window when they paid around £38 million RB Leipzig. There have been calls to add more players to his squad, especially a midfielder to replace Georginio Wijnaldum, but Klopp may have other ideas.
The manager insists he has a big enough squad, and adding more players doesn’t make sense. Without explicitly insisting Liverpool are done with their transfer business, Klopp hinted some players might have to depart soon before he can bring in new faces. After all, it’s all there to interpret, as the German manager might be happy enough with his existing squad.
Liverpool Echo published quotes from Klopp’s interview with Norwegian outlet TV2, where he spoke on various things, including new transfers and extending contracts of current stars. Mainly on new transfers, this is what the manager had to say.
“It is summer, and the transfer window is open, then everyone expects some player signings. We will see what happens,” said Klopp. “Let’s go through the squad. Do you want to buy a new fullback? A new goalkeeper? We already have good players there.”
“In midfield, we have players with a lot of experiences, such as Thiago, Fabinho, Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita. In addition, we have exciting young boys in Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones. In the attack, we have Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Xherdan Shaqiri, Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi.
“I’ve definitely forgotten someone… If you want to buy such players, you have to spend a lot of money. We do not have to do that because the players are already here. You have to make changes from time to time, but then there must be room to do it. We do not want more players. If something happens somewhere, something can happen somewhere else, but it makes no sense to add more players.”
Klopp’s comments do hint at Liverpool not going for any more additions unless there are departures in the coming weeks. Only time will tell whether that is the right approach.
