Jurgen Klopp agrees that Liverpool is not in a position to accumulate players as they formalize their transfer strategy this summer.
Klopp has long insisted that Premier League champions are unlikely to make any major moves in the next window given the financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
However, with Adam Lallana nearing the end of his contract, Dejan Lovren is about to close an exit, and question marks over the future of Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi, Liverpool are about to lose a number of key team members. .
Manchester City, whom Liverpool replaced as Premier League champions, has become accustomed to spending a lot to bolster its squad options, a journey well traveled by Manchester United with Chelsea this summer.
And when asked how the Reds would cope with the loss of a star player due to injury in the first weeks of the season, Klopp insists that he will not sign players if they are needed.
“We all want to be prepared for situations like this, but we are not, nobody really is,” said the head of the Reds, whose team ended their campaign at Newcastle United on Sunday.
“It always occurs to the wrong player, you could say. You can have a department where you have many alternatives, then apply to another department where you don’t have it. Then you have to start being creative right away.”
“We create a team where everyone feels they are needed. That means we can sometimes be a little short on an ‘A’ solution, but we always have a solution. As long as we have that, we have to work with it.
“For a club like us, it is not possible to have 20 world class players on the bench. We have to act at a world class level and that is possible in different lineups. Our players have all the potential to be world class but at Sometimes they don’t play enough to prove that.
“Building squads is really complicated and it’s a big challenge every year. The answer is to never have more players than you need, actually. That’s not the answer. You feel comfortable for a moment and then you have completely different problems during all year .
(Image: John Powell / Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“It’s hard to decide exactly what the right number is and what the right alternatives are, but that’s the job that needs to be done. So far we’ve done quite well, and hopefully we will stay that way.”
Lallana, who will not be traveling for the game in Newcastle, has already said goodbye to Melwood and is expected to return to the south coast and sign a long-term agreement with Brighton and Hove Albion.
It is also uncertain whether Lovren will be performing at St James’ Park as he prepares to move to Zenit St Petersburg in a deal worth around £ 11 million.
Meanwhile, Klopp has paid tribute to Liverpool’s medical and fitness staff for ensuring that many of his key players remained free of serious injury during the campaign and were not too affected by lack of training for three months during the shutdown. .
“I am 100% sure that everyone knows how much I appreciate what they do,” he said.
“We have a department that helps fit men stay in shape, like nutrition with Mona Nemmer, the fitness department with Andy Kornmayer, and of course the medical department. Everyone has done an amazing job.”
“The physical state and the particular nutrition, during the lockdown, helped keep the children fit and healthy and that was really important.”
“The medical department are tireless workers, and they continue to bring the children to the field again week after week, and sometimes every three days. That is absolutely exceptional.
“We are very happy with the way we dealt with an extremely difficult situation: all the teams had the same situation. We treated it very well. I am enormously grateful for that.”
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