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Publication date: Saturday, October 31, 2020 8:52 AM
Jurgen Klopp refuses to get nervous after naming seven players he says can replace Liverpool in the center of defense.
The Reds head into Saturday night’s game against West Ham with only Joe Gomez as their only fit senior center half.
Following the season-ending ACL injury suffered by Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool have lost substitute Fabinho. While the Brazilian’s hamstring injury is not as serious as initially feared, it still leaves the red light in the back.
With Joel Matip also on the sidelines, Klopp insisted Friday that he was “excited” to find a solution to the problem..
“Maybe enjoy is the wrong word, but I realized a long time ago that life is a challenge and this is a 100% challenge. Once you get over the incident, it’s all about solutions. And the solutions excite me, that’s true, ”Klopp said.
“I see it as a challenge and an opportunity. But we play matches every three days and this will continue to be a challenge, but we are fine and we will take care of the situation. “
Klopp, however, has now elaborated more on the situation and has named seven players who he knows can play alongside Gomez.
Nat Phillips, Billy Koumetio and Rhys Williams are the options within the club’s youth system. Klopp has also named four first-team players who can play out of position.
Klopp appears to be leaning towards Phillips, having been on loan at Stuttgart last season. That’s despite Klopp admitting he came close to leaving in the summer.
“I know Nat [Phillips] the longest, so I was very happy with this development. Since I’ve known him, he has made great strides and he’s an exceptional character, ”Klopp said.
“I said it before that the little problem was that we were all convinced, how it looked all the time. There were many clubs interested in him and in the end, perhaps because of the coronavirus crisis, nobody had the money to do it. But we expected him to leave the club, to be honest.
“Thank God he did not, but that is the reason why he is not on the Champions League squad, the only reason.
“He can not be on the bench in the Champions League. But he is available for the Premier League like the three and now I have to make a decision.
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Klopp names four possible substitutes
Klopp is convinced that he can also call on other high-level stars to complete the defense if the need calls for it.
“We still obviously have other options like Hendo [Jordan Henderson] or Gini [Wijnaldum] or James [Milner]. Or Robbo [Andy Robertson] you can also play in the middle of the center. They are all not smaller than [Javier] Mascherano, for example, and he played quite well in that position.
“So yeah, obviously we still have one or two options and one of them, we will choose. Which, you have to turn on the television on Saturday night. “
PREDICTIONS: Hammers to end Liverpool’s long streak; wins for Man Utd, Spurs, Leeds
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