Jurgen Klopp insists he is happy with Liverpool’s midfield options despite the summer exit of Georginio Wijnaldum.
The Reds have yet to sign a direct replacement for the Dutchman, who joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last month.
Links with the likes of Saul Niguez, Renato Sanches and Youri Tielemans have been dismissed by club sources, and Klopp says he is ready to trust the players within his squad to fill the gap left by Wijnaldum.
What did Klopp say?
At a press conference ahead of Liverpool’s opening Premier League fixture of the season, away to Norwich on Saturday, Klopp was asked directly whether he felt he needed to replace Wijnaldum.
Smiling, he said: “You tell me, if you would sign a midfielder, tell me a name? We can count our midfielders and you tell me we need to replace Gini.
“Hendo [Jordan Henderson] and Thiago haven't been involved in pre-season apart from a week, we played quite a few games with [James] Milner, Naby Keita and Harvey [Elliott], we have another midfielder that played that was [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fabinho, Curtis Jones. Curtis is another player who can and will make the next step and is an exceptional talent.
“Different profiles, now you tell me which player we need? What should the player have? Should he score more goals than Gini? Should he defend better than Fab? Should he be more creative than Naby, Curtis, Ox, Harvey? What do you want?”
He added: "So he should score more goals? Okay. Makes sense. I don't know which midfielder it is then that scores more goals from that position than the boys we have.
“We've never said we don't have to improve - we have to improve - but to score more goals from midfield positions you have to create the situations for that. You can't just say we need a midfielder to score more goals, if a midfielder plays for us it's not that easy they are always in goalscoring situations, they have to do different jobs, we have a specific set-up of our team.
"I really understand it. I'm in my sixth year here, and apart from the year we signed Ali and Virg, it was always the same. It looks always like we don't sign enough and don't do enough.
“[But] we work constantly on improving the team and one part of it is signing new players. The most important thing, and I think our fans appreciate it as well, is having a group together who is fun to watch, exciting to watch, is fighting together, who is definitely 100% committed to the club and the values of the club. We have that. Let's fight with all we have and whatever happens until the end of [the transfer window] we will see.”
‘City and Chelsea always find solutions’
Klopp was asked if he was ‘surprised’ at the spending of clubs such as Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United, who have made eye-catching, big-money signings this summer.
He said: “I am not surprised, because these clubs don’t depend on these kind of things. We all know the situation of Chelsea, City and PSG.
“United, I don’t know exactly how they do it. But we have our way, and since I am here it was always the same. We are allowed to spend the money we earn. That’s what we always did.
“This year we spent money before we earned it with Ibou Konate, because last year it was clear we cannot take any risks at all in this position.
“That’s our situation. I’m never surprised by the financial power of Chelsea and Manchester City. I am long enough in the country to know that they always find a solution with these kind of things.
“For us, it’s our way. We keep the team together, which is an important part of business as well. I know it’s not as exciting for the outside world as signing new players, but the summer is always the same; people think if you don’t sign, you don’t work. That’s not the case.
“We are constantly thinking about the present and the future, short-term and long-term - what can we do? How will the team look this year, next year? Yes, maybe [this summer] is not the most exciting but if you are a real Liverpool fan you are happy with the news the club delivered in the last few weeks - signing Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Virgil. And others will follow, which is obviously great news.
“If other teams wanted to sign these players they would have to pay a lot of money, and we have them already, which is good! We have a really good squad, we should be in a better situation than last year, so let’s try to build on it and see where we end up.”
He added: "We cannot compare with the other clubs, they obviously don't have any limits. We have limits. But we were quite successful even when having limits in the last few years and that's what we shall try again and not use it as an excuse. If we don't win a game we won't say 'it's because we didn't sign him or him'. That will not be the case.
“We cannot spend money we don't have. We cannot, maybe others can, but we can't. That's it. That's my information.”
Elliott set to stay
Klopp also offered an update on the future of Harvey Elliott, the 18-year-old who has made a big impression during pre-season.
Elliott spent last year on loan at Blackburn, but will be part of Liverpool’s first-team squad for the new campaign.
Klopp said: “That’s the plan. He showed up in an exceptional way. He’s only 18, but we don’t treat him like an 18-year-old boy in training sessions or on the pitch!
“His football is pretty mature. It’s really exciting. Like all our midfielders, he brings a different dimension; dribbling, passing range, a lot of things.
“He played a top pre-season and so did Kaide Gordon, who is only 16. That’s the situation; if you don’t have these spaces in the squad, you block these boys. You have to keep these spaces open for these exceptional talents. We need to show that we are a club that gives opportunities to these kind of boys.”
Further reading
- How will Liverpool line-up in 2021-22?
- Van Dijk signs contract extension until 2025
- Liverpool season preview: Van Dijk key to title chances
