JURGEN’S GOOD BUYS
Kop boss says signings show Reds got lucky in missing out on Chelsea two
JURGEN KLOPP has publicly admitted Jude Bellingham was his No.1 target last summer and explained how Liverpool got ‘lucky’ by missing out on Moises Caicedo.
When Klopp realised that a pursuit of Bellingham (left) would be pointless, he turned his attention to Caicedo.
But the former Brighton midfielder had his heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge.
And when the Liverpool boss then targeted Romeo Lavia, the Belgian also opted for Chelsea instead.
But as Klopp prepared for tonight’s clash with Chelsea, he explained how things actually worked out well for Liverpool. He said: “We were interested in Bellingham, realised it would’t happen, and thought we could maybe get Caicedo. But he had an emotional agreement already with Chelsea and Maurcio Pochettino.
“Then Lavia had his own reasons. But then we found our top solution.”
And referring to some indiscreet comments he made in December, Klopp said: “We found Wataru (Endo), we already knew Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) could play the position and Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) was always on my radar.
“If one of the £100million signings had worked, there’s no chance to do another. That’s what I meant when I said we are so lucky. Everything in the ‘if not’ scenario worked out.”
All eyes will certainly be on Kop transfer business this summer after Klopp’s announcement on Friday that he is quitting Anfield.
But after Virgil van Dijk set alarm bells ringing by admitting he did not know if he would be part of the postklopp era – and with Mo Salah and Trent Alexanderarnold (above) having only 18 months of their deals left to run – the Liverpool manager insisted there will be no big-name exodus.
Klopp said: “These players love to be here, don’t worry. This club is stable, 100 percent, and everything will be fine, I am 100 percent sure. I would recommend staying calm in this department.
“Virgil is a grown man with a family, four kids. He will decide about his future, it’s nothing to do with me or whatever. He loves this club and is so happy to be here.”
Van Dijk will lead the Reds against Chelsea and Klopp is expecting a big test of his team’s credentials.
He said: “They are a really good football team with an outstanding manager. You cannot see that in the table yet but in the last few weeks they have made a big step. I expect them to make more big steps but I want it to start after our game.”
Klopp revealed Thiago Alcantara has returned to training after missing nine months following a hip operation and gave an update on Salah’s recovery from his hamstring injury, saying: “Mo is out for this game, out for the next. It could have been much worse but he is not available at the moment.”
Chelsea go into tonight’s game trailing Liverpool by 17 points. The reverse fixture on the opening weekend of the season finished 1-1.