Klopp says Liverpool owners back him ‘100 per cent’
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is determined to sign their top targets ahead of the new season, saying he has 100 per cent backing from the club owners in a complicated transfer window.
The Merseyside club have recruited winger Mohammed Salah from Roma and striker Dominic Solanke, whose contract expired at Chelsea.
British media have reported that Klopp is interested in signing RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita but a £57 million (Dh274m) offer was rejected by the Bundesliga side.
“We pretty much have all you need. But at the end it is still business,” Klopp told the British media. “You go out and see the car that you have been dreaming about your whole life ... you say ‘here is the money’ but they say to you ‘I don’t want to sell the car’. You say ‘but I have got the money’ but they say ‘I don’t want to sell’.
“They say ‘go for another car in another colour’ but you say ‘that’s OK but I want this’. Things like this happen in life, not only football.”
Liverpool were forced to end their pursuit of Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk after the local media reported that the latter made a complaint to the Premier League over an alleged illegal approach.
Despite the frustration of having to negotiate the transfer business, Klopp is keen on adding players that would improve his side ahead of the new season.
When asked if he had the support from the owners, Klopp replied: “One hundred per cent. OK, I didn’t ask if I could buy [Cristiano] Ronaldo or the other guys from Barcelona but I am absolutely fine with this.
“It is not about a number. It is about how it fits together. I felt we already had a pretty good side last year, especially when everyone is fit and that gives me a good feeling.”
Liverpool, who finished fourth in the league last season, visit Watford to kick off the new campaign on August 12.
Meanwhile, midfielder Lucas Leiva appears to be closing in on a move to Lazio after the Italian club posted a picture of the Brazilian on their official Twitter account.
The Brazilian, who had been the subject of a £5m bid, was pictured with a Lazio scarf at an airport.
Lucas is Liverpool’s current longest-serving player after a decade on Merseyside, but he made only 19 starts in all competitions last season and 346 for the club in total, and was in the final year of his contract.
In the last 18 months Jurgen Klopp has asked Lucas to stay on to provide some much-needed experience, despite interest from clubs in Turkey and Italy, but decided not to stand in his way as he pursues regular firstteam football elsewhere.