Klopp targets Pulisic
> Liverpool boss ready to off load Fabinho to get Dortmund ace
LIVERPOOL boss Jurgen Klopp is willing to sell Fabinho to raise funds to sign Christian Pulisic. Fabinho has struggled to adapt to Premier League football since arriving from Monaco in the summer.
The midfielder looked out of his depth in the Red’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal recently and Klopp is reportedly prepared to cut his losses on the Brazilian in order to bring in Borussia Dortmund ace Pulisic.
Chelsea are also interested in the £70mrated (RM376m) star who shone for the USA against England last week.
Pulisic signed for the Bundesliga club nearly four years ago while Klopp was the manager but the German seriously fears losing out on his signature to Premier League rivals Chelsea.
The American winger is out of contract in 2020 and Dortmund want to cash in rather than lose him on a free.
Recent reports claimed that Chelsea were leading the race to capture the 20-year-old attacking midfielder.
But the Daily Mirror says that Klopp is willing to raise extra funds to outbid the Blues by selling Fabinho.
The rangy star has failed to make an impact since joining in the summer for £43.7m (RM235m) from Monaco and Liverpool are giving serious consideration to cashing in early on the midfielder with interest from AC Milan and Juventus.
An Anfield source said: “Having watched Christian develop there is no way Jurgen is going to back off now. He knows he is a talent who can light up the Premier League.”
Pulisic has spoken about moving to England before, saying: “The Premier League, is where lots of kids dream of playing so there is no reason why one day I won’t play there.
“We are having a great year at Dortmund and I am enjoying every moment of that.
“Then when the time comes for me to talk in the breaks about my future, that’s when those things will happen.”
In other Liverpool related news, Reds’ star Dejan Lovren is facing a dressing down over his spat with Real Madrid rival Sergio Ramos.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said he will speak with the defender about comments he made on social media.
Lovren published a video on Instagram following Croatia’s 3-2 win over Spain in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday.
The video showed Lovren appearing to suggest he had elbowed Real Madrid defender Ramos during the game.
Whilst still in the dressing room after the game, he said live on Instagram: “Go ahead and talk now buddy. Buddy! They are a bunch of p******.”
Ramos subsequently accused the Croatian of trying to grab the headlines, insisting he would do his talking on the pitch.
“I’ve said it many times. I don’t know if these things are said out of frustration or for other reasons,” Ramos said.
“I’m not going to answer Lovren or whoever wants to win three front pages or start the news bulletin. Everyone wins things for himself on the pitch.”
Dalic said he will address the ongoing saga with Lovren.
“I will talk personally with Dejan, but that will stay between us and the squad,” Dalic said. “I don’t want to talk publicly about this.” Lovren’s teammate Virgil Van Dijk waded into the situation which began during the Champions League final.
The Dutchman admitted he is not a fan of Ramos’ last-ditch style of defending.
Van Dijk told Dutch outlet De Telegraaf: “Ramos is not the best. He’s a great player and I respect what he has achieved, but he is not my type of central defender.
“Personally, I don’t defend the way Ramos does. I try to avoid the kind of situations in which he excels and I don’t even try to make sliding tackles.” – Daily Star