NEIL MOXLEY Klopp & Lampard are both winners in Werner deal
TIMO WERNER’S transfer tells us one thing – the two bosses at the heart of this Premier League transfer tug-ofwar are men of steel.
Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Chelsea’s Frank Lampard are individuals who very much know their own minds.
And that’s why the £53million for the in-form RB Leipzig frontman should not be viewed necessarily as a triumph for the party that won his signature.
But more it should be set within a context – and seen within such a framework it shows why both clubs will follow an upwards trend with these two in charge.
Why?
Because they’ve both taken difficult decisions and backed both themselves and their judgement.
In the red corner, Klopp. No-one in England will have a better handle on Werner’s capabilities than the Liverpool boss.
He will have a deeper understanding of the player himself through his contacts back in Germany. He will have seen the striker play on numerous occasions himself.
The 52-year-old will not need to be told by his analysts how the free-scoring wideman will fit into Liverpool’s system.
There won’t be much they will be able to tell him.
Money
Liverpool’s interest in the player obviously comes at a high price. This, don’t forget, is a time when the club is bleeding money due to the coronavirus crisis
Yet when faced with handing over £53m and a £200,000-aweek contract, the club’s steward had the guts to say: ‘No thanks. Not worth it.’ Bear in mind that the time to buy is when you are in a position of strength – and few can doubt that the title-winners elect are operating from such a lofty level – and Klopp would have been within his rights to make this an issue, but he has nevertheless bowed out of the running.
It’s not that the German (below) minds spending a bit of cash, either.
He bought right at the top of the market when Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson Becker plugged two holes that definitely needed filling.
Then he plonked the Champions League trophy in the Anfield boardroom.
The signings of those missing pieces of the jigsaw came on the back of his recruitment team spending just £7m on left-back Andy Robertson. I could go on. It’s best we turn to Lampard.
Just over four months ago – it now seems like a lifetime to all of us – a very, very brassed-off Blues boss (left) sat in front of the media at Hull City following an FA Cup tie.
It should have been over by halftime. But the Tigers made a game of it and lost by the odd goal in three.
The anger was simmering beneath the surface.
Of course, Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer is a class act and just about kept the lid on
it.
But the gist of his postmatch message was: ‘I keep working with these players – and they keep letting me down
– when will they learn?’ Lampard’s conclusion? They won’t.
So he has done something about it. He’s gone out, backed himself and spent big.
Now, Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech and Werner may not be the answers.
Decisions
But Lampard isn’t having the inconsistency shown by Pedro, Willian, Ross Barkley, Callum Hudson-odoi or anyone else that isn’t cutting the mustard at Stamford Bridge.
He knows he is in the rarefied atmosphere near the top of English football. Results are demanded.
Klopp takes big decisions that have so far proved right. Lampard appears to be cut from the same cloth.
This clarity of thought marks both down men as class acts – the future for both clubs is one to look forward to.
The continued state of flux over Project Re-start in the Championship. What a mess.
Newcastle United’s takeover delay. What a shambles.
Leicester City’s £80milliom price tag on Ben Chilwell. What an overvaluation.