KLOPP SETS A GOAL FOR SMART ALEX
JURGEN KLOPP believes Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain must add goals to his game with Liverpool.
The Kop boss has hailed the £35m signing from Arsenal as he continues to settle into life at Anfield.
Oxlade-Chamberlain returns to the Emirates tomorrow night for the first time since quitting the Gunners to move to Merseyside.
The England midfielder has overcome a slow start to his Liverpool career to become a more influential member of Klopp’s side in recent weeks, an improvement that included his starring role in the 4-0 win over Bournemouth on Sunday.
The Anfield chief is now expecting more from him – and that means goals, having netted just 20 times for the Gunners over six years.
Klopp said: “The biggest improvement and potential is being involved in goalscoring situations. He was not asked for this too much in the past.
“If you watch Arsenal in the past, their two decisive players were (Mesut) Ozil and (Alexis) Sanchez. They are involved in a lot of moments and decisive passes. Ozil or Sanchez.
“Then there is (Olivier) Giroud, when he is coming on the pitch.
“Here we put it on more shoulders, much more shoulders. If he is on the pitch, he needs to be involved in these situations. But at the moment, it’s all good.”
Klopp believes there is still plenty more to come from the 24-year-old midfielder, who joined the Gunners from Southampton in 2011.
“There is a lot of space for improvement as well,” added the German.
“He is still a young player. It’s unbelievable, but he has 10 or 12 years yet to come in his career.
“If he was already complete, then he would be (Lionel) Messi. He is the only player who was complete at that age. Now he can improve.”
Barcelona continue to pursue Philippe Coutinho and are expected to make a January bid, despite having an offer of £118m rejected in the summer.
But Klopp insists the Brazil ace’s focus has not wavered, and the same goes for midfielder Emre Can, who is out of contract in the summer and looks unlikely to sign a new deal.
He added: “Neither Emre or Phil gave me the impression they are not interested. That is all I care about until we have to make a decision.”