LIVERPOOL .... £605.25M EVERTON ....... £584.38M

That’s what derby clubs have spent since Klopp arrived. One forged fresh glory... the other shopped until it dropped to new low

SPECIAL REPORT

Alexander-Arnold were not recruited by Klopp.

All the rest, including key stars Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Thiago and keeper Alisson, were transfers.

But new Goodison boss Frank Lampard inherited a disjointed squad put together by past managers.

Few sum up Everton’s poor recruitment better than Ivorian midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin, 26.

The midfielder arrived from German side Mainz in 2019 as a replacement for PSG-bound Idrissa Gueye in a £23m deal.

But he left for a loan spell at CSKA Moscow in February, having started only two league games in three seasons.

Midfielder Davy Klaassen arrived from Ajax in a £24.3m transfer with a decent reputation, but left two years later for half the money.

Promising Juventus striker Moise Kean cost

£24.5m when Marco Silva signed him in 2019. But after just six starts and two goals in 32 league appearances, he was put on loan to PSG and now back on loan at Juve.

Former Southampton and Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin (£20.7m), onetime Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie (£22.5m), Turkish striker Cenk Tosun (£21.2m) were all players who all failed to give value.

While Klopp and Liverpool do their homework and rarely have a fail, Everton can’t seem to get it right.

The Toffees parted company with Dutch director of football Marcel Brands in December and have now appointed Kevin Thelwall, former sporting director at Wolves and director of football at New York Red Bulls.

And if they survive this relegation scare, Everton fans will hope Thelwall can create a new structure that will end nearly a decade of money-wasting madness.

By STEVE BATES

THE full scale of Everton’s disastrous transfer market performance since Jurgen Klopp took charge at Liverpool might be a secondary issue for nervous Toffees fans today.

But, as they take on their arch rivals in the 240th Merseyside derby at Anfield, it’s a major reason Klopp’s stars are chasing an historic Quadruple – while Everton face relegation.

When Klopp succeeded Brendan Rodgers in October 2015, Everton were a point above their red rivals in seventh place.

Fast-forward six-and-ahalf years and, while owner Farhad Moshiri (below) finds his Everton at the trapdoor to the second-tier, Liverpool are on the cusp of history.

And it’s all down to one word: recruitment.

While Liverpool’s record in 13 transfer

Lamps inherited windows in

disjointed squad Klopp’s reign put together by has been past managers spectacular, Everton’s was absymal.

But the most damning aspect is that the Goodison club have almost spent as much as Liverpool in the seven seasons Klopp has been at the helm.

Klopp’s outlay of £605.25million on players since his arrival in town has brought glittering success, with dream football triggering a Premier League crown, the 2019 Champions League title, this season’s Carabao Cup as well as a FIFA World Club Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

In the same period, Everton – under six different managers – have spent a huge £584.38m, just £20.87m less than Liverpool.

Of 14 players who starred in the 4-0 destruction of Manchester United in Liverpool’s last game, only skipper Jordan Henderson and defender Trent