ALL THAT’S REAL BUSINESS

Other teams don’t throw nuts, they have money. Half the world would like my stars but we’ve kept them together...

JURGEN KLOPP has claimed keeping his Liverpool team together for another crack at the Premier League title this season has been THE transfer business of the summer.

And in an attack on critics who claim Liverpool have not built on their outstanding success, winning the Champions League in June and finishing a whisker behind Manchester City in the league, Klopp has savaged the notion new players would improve his side.

The Kop boss has seen

City, Arsenal and Tottenham all break their club transfer records this summer while Liverpool have not done any business for first-team players.

But he reckons warding off predators to keep his holy trinity of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane (above), along with £75million defender Virgil van Dijk, at Anfield beats any new signings hands down.

“There was never the intention to spend again because of the team we had last year which is a wonderful age group.

“It’s only in England where you come up with ‘now bring in more quality and new faces’ and all that stuff at the end of a season.

“Divock Origi has a new contract and all the others have stayed – THAT is transfer business!” blasted Klopp. “I know people smile and even laugh about it, that’s just how it is.

“But keeping a team like this together is not easy. Half the world would like to have these guys.

“And they (other clubs) don’t throw nuts – they have money as well! It’s like this.

“We wanted to keep that team together and it means consolidation, pay the bills, play football, go for everything then after the season we can have a look what happened.

“But this team deserves another year together – that’s how it is. So, a absolutely, it’s a bonus just k keeping these guys together f for another year.

“We have fresh blood and fresh legs. Naby Keita is p pretty much a new player, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, too, Rhian Brewster is a new player, as is Divock Origi. “The rest can make steps and improve and then, afterwards, we can talk about how they develop.

“But we cannot buy the quality we have up front every summer and say, ‘Come on, we are bringing another one in of this quality’.

“That doesn’t work, so that’s why I don’t like too much to discuss that in the Champions League final on June 1 and now the first game of the new season.

“That doesn’t sound exactly like it concept.” Liverpool face Pep Guardiola’s champions in the Community Shield today on the back of a mixed pre-season hampered by players arriving late after the Copa America and Africa Cup of Nations.

But Klopp insists the answer to producing another top season is in his own squad – not with transfers.

He says: “Six weeks ago, we started to make sure we are ready for the new season. But we have no solution in the transfer market that could solve the problems we will have during the season – that’s the truth.

“We have to face the problem, find the solutions internally, on the training pitch and go again – that’s what we will try.

“The problem for us has been pre-season. I don’t think any other team has had so many players at the Africa Cup and the Copa, then we have two injuries on top so then you have to make a pre-season without six key players – that’s a bit tricky.

“We would have had the same pre- season if we didn’t win the Champions League final, but, thank God, we won it, so now let’s go.” should be to me. Who can have this idea? It’s crazy,” said Klopp.

“I’d much prefer to have had the Sunday game because that would have given us two more days of preparation. I see people are excited about the new season, but no one worries about the problems.

“That’s why I have to mention them – no one else sees it.”