KLOPP: NO CLEAR-OUT
Stars not for sale
JURGEN KLOPP says Liverpool will not have to sell to balance the books after splashing £75m on Virgil van Dijk.
The Kop boss justified the Reds’ record fee by claiming they had to adapt to keep up with the big spenders, but said: “It is not nice.”
When asked if he will have to sell a player after signing the Dutch defender from Southampton, Klopp said: “Nobody told me that. We have good players and we don’t have to sell anybody.”
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was the latest to stick the knife in after instructing Klopp to be questioned on his comments about the Old Trafford club spending £89m on Paul Pogba.
“If you bring one player in for £100m, or whatever, and he gets injured, then it all goes through the chimney,” Klopp said in July 2016.
“Do I have to do it differently to that? Actually, I want to do it differently. I would even do it differently if I could spend that money.”
Surprised
Ahead of today visit of Leicester, Klopp said Paris St-Germain’s £200m signing of Neymar changed the transfer landscape.
He added: “I’m surprised about developments in the last two years. They were big steps. But the last half a year changed pretty much everything. It’s a big change and we have to adapt to it.
“It’s not nice, but that’s the market, that’s the world. If you cannot do it, you have to look for other solutions but in the market for centrehalves at this moment there are a lot of interesting centre-halves that have clauses. There is not one with a lower clause.
“If you do not want to do it, do not do it. We had an opportunity to do it and that is why he will be an LFC player.”
The much-touted move of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona would more than balance the books.
Klopp added: “The only thing I am interested in is how Phil is playing at the moment. I was really happy about the last few performances and about his impact. He showed his character in the games.”