KLOPP: KDB INJURY SHOWS DISASTER IS NOT THAT FAR AWAY
JURGEN KLOPP sounded a warning to his high-flying Liverpool side that potential disaster is never far away.
Many observers see the German’s team as the biggest threat to Manchester City retaining the Premier League title, especially after an opening-day 4-0 victory over West Ham.
The three-month injury absence of playmaker Kevin De Bruyne (below) should have been music to Klopp’s ears.
Instead, the Kop boss played the sympathy card – with a vengeance.
“It’s s**t news, to be honest,” he said. “He was never my player, but I love this player. I wanted him at Borussia Dortmund, but Jose (Mourinho at Chelsea) wouldn’t give him to us.
“It is something that can always happen. We have training tonight at 6pm and anything can happen. You have to get ready to sort that.
“We were speaking last season about a good squad and then a minute later someone tells me Philippe Coutinho wants to go to Barcelona.
“So, in football, you have it for a minute and it’s gone. We need to enjoy the moment, but then be ready. We constantly prepare for problems.”
But he believes City will be able to cope.
“They have options with Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden,” said Klopp.
“Against Chelsea in the Community Shield, they were so good and David Silva and De Bruyne didn’t play. You think, ‘Wow!’.
“They will obviously be strong again, but I hope Kevin will be back as quickly as possible. It could have been worse and, hopefully, he can see it that way.”
In Liverpool’s engine room, £57million signing Naby Keita has the potential to make a similar impact in the Premier League as De Bruyne. He impressed against the Hammers, but tomorrow night at Crystal Palace will see a tougher examination of his skills and temperament. Last season, after having to wait 12 months before sealing his permanent move from RB Leipzig, he was shown four red cards for his club and country, Guinea, plus nine yellows. Klopp admitted: “That one year at Leipzig was not easy for him, you could see it on the pitch. He’s very young. “We wanted him desperately and we accepted it (the wait), we didn’t fight, but he wanted to come immediately. When somebody tells you, ‘It can happen in a year’, nobody in the world likes that message. “And so he struggled a bit with that, though not too much. Last year was not his best season, the season before was completely the next level. “Last year was normal with a few nice highlights and a few unlucky red cards. We watched them again, it was just a millisecond late here, too excited there. Young players do that. “It was not that he was overly harsh in his challenges, just that he was too ready to win it. Sometimes when you come too late, it’s not too cool.” But Klopp (below) added: “He was worth waiting for. Usually, you don’t get a player like him. He’s 22 and all the other clubs are not blind, so we were lucky we could do very unusual business a bit early.” With another expensive addition to the Liverpool midfield, £43m Fabinho, yet to make his debut, Klopp is feeling chilled – for now. “All these things are good, but they need to be good,” he insisted. “Now we have to make the best of it.” Because, as he knows with title rivals Manchester City and De Bruyne, situations can change very quickly.