‘AFCON switch is a catastrophe for us’

JURGEN Klopp says returning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to January next season is a catastrophe for Liverpool and could influence his summer transfer strategy.

The Liverpool manager will be without Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita for a month next winter after it was announced that the biennial tournament being hosted by Cameroon would not be played in the summer, as it was last year in Egypt.

Klopp said: ‘The Africa Cup of Nations going back to January is, for us, a catastrophe. And this doesn’t help African players either.

‘We will not sell Sadio, Mo or Naby now just because they have a tournament in January and February. Of course not.

‘But if you have to make a decision about bringing in a player it is a massive one because before the season you know that for four weeks you don’t have them. That’s a normal process and as a club you have to think about these things.

‘On top of that we have absolutely no power in this. So if we say, “We don’t let a player go to the tournament”, the player is then suspended. How is it possible that the company who pays the player cannot decide that the player has to stay or not?’

The change, made because the summer is Cameroon’s rainy season, means the AFCON will not clash with FIFA’s proposed 21-team Club World Cup scheduled for China in summer 2021.

Klopp said Liverpool would in all likelihood play in that. ‘It must be a lot of money for all the clubs involved,’ he added. ‘It means the clubs are like, “Maybe we can play in it”.

‘It’s a strange situation as if we ask for less games then we’d get paid less money. But I’m ready to do so. I can say it here.’

Liverpool face Manchester United at Anfield tomorrow with midfielder Fabinho back after injury.

Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Klopp are at odds over the Anfield manager’s claim that United only defend against his team.

Klopp made the comment after Liverpool grabbed a late equaliser at Old Trafford in October following a goalless draw at United last season. Solskjaer responded: ‘When the opposition manager is frustrated that’s a good sign. I think we’ve been closest to winning both those games, so I don’t know what the problem has been.’ Meanwhile, United captain Ashley Young (left) last night completed his move to Inter Milan.