Klopp’s crusade to protect his players
JURGEN KLOPP will continue in his bid to reduce player burn-out.
But the Liverpool boss accepts he will get no help from governing bodies, leaving it down to him and his medical team to protect the Reds’ stars.
Klopp took exception to ex-Red Jamie Carragher’s suggestion that other managers would have held back Sadio Mane at the start of this term. Mane was still playing for Senegal in the African Nations Cup in mid-July.
But Klopp said: “I’d love to hear Jamie Carragher if I had left Sadio out!
“We have an eye on it, but we are not responsible for making a decision how often they can go. We have to change it if possible.”
The Serbian midfielder has become an outcast at Old Trafford this season after losing his place in Solskjaer’s starting XI to Scott McTominay.
It is understood Matic is less than impressed with his treatment and wants clear-the-air talks to discover if he is still part of Solskjaer’s plans.
Matic joined United from Chelsea in a £40million deal in the summer of 2017 when Jose Mourinho was manager.
He became an instant hit and cemented his place in the United midfield alongside Paul Pogba.
But after Mourinho’s sacking last December, the 31-year-old has become increasingly less influential in Solskjaer’s regime.
He was a close ally of Mourinho’s at United and one of the few players to support the Portuguese as he faced a dressing-room revolt during the final weeks of his troubled reign.
Since Mourinho left, however, the former Benfica star has felt more isolated within the group and, at his age, feels he may need a new challenge.
Matic has not started a game under Solskjaer since the first week in May. To make matters worse, he still cannot force his way into the side despite United selling both Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini in the last seven months without replacing them.
Matic has found himself stuck on the bench for the first three games of the new campaign and is worried Solskjaer will use him only for Europa League and domestic cup games this season.
Solskjaer is a huge fan of McTominay and believes the Scotland international is more mobile than Matic in one of the defensive midfield positions.
But Matic thinks his greater experience is being ignored and is now set to meet Solskjaer to find out where he stands.
Several European clubs are keeping close tabs on the situation and would consider signing him on loan should he decide to leave before the European transfer window closes next Monday.
United defender Luke Shaw is expected to be out for up to a month with a damaged hamstring he suffered in Saturday’s shock home defeat by Crystal Palace.