Unlike John West- you pick the ones we reject- LFC Transfer Thread

Klopp’s press conference today was really interesting. He spoke extensively about our midfield options, that Harvey Elliott was our best player before getting hurt last season, why he he is baffled by the idea that we need another midfielder, the possibility of playing 4-2-3-1, and how Jude Bellingham is not currently on the market.

 

Here are Klopp’s quotes:


“I do not understand,” he says. “People told me about this discussion but the last thing that would have crossed my mind is that we have to do this (sign another midfielder).

“No, (we’re not looking to buy), I can say that. I don’t think something will happen in midfield. You never know, if somebody comes to me and says ‘I want to go’… but nobody came to me yet. If that happens, then we have to talk new. But if the situation stays like it is, then tell me why would we?

“We can go through it. Where do you want to start? So, Fabinho, (Jordan) Henderson, Thiago, (James) Milner, (Naby) Keita, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, (Alex) Oxlade-Chamberlain. Now you tell me what kind of player are we missing?”

Klopp adds: “I know all these things, that we don’t score enough goals from midfield, but what do we want? This ‘Golden Cow’ that is producing absolutely everything, milk as well!

“Do we want a midfielder who is offensive, 1.95m tall and arrives into the box to head balls in? Do we miss that? OK, apart from that!

“We have three players in the squad who can easily play as a No 6. Fabinho, of course, but also Hendo and Milly played it fine.

“Creativity? If we bring in a player just for that, we immediately make it more difficult for Harvey, Curtis and Fabio. They can all play different positions as well, of course: Curtis can play a line higher and Harvey and Fabio can play there, too.

“We can play a different system as well, where we might only need two midfielders, but then all these guys can play as a No 10 in the new system. So where is the need for a midfielder? The day when somebody comes to me and tells me why exactly…”

On Bellingham: “He’s not on the market, so that’s the first problem with that player,” confirmed Klopp. “Well, the only problem with that player!”


“We should not forget that last season, in the first four games, Harvey was the best player. He was outstanding,” says Klopp.

“Then he had a bad injury and when he came back, he was high then low. Normal for a young player, and normal after a long injury. He looks sharp now, he’s back, and like everybody he needs luck, but he looks great.

“Curtis Jones, what a player he is as well. Oxlade, he played the first part of the season quite a lot, and in January played different positions. Yes, he didn’t play a lot after that but remember how good he was.

“Fabio, you look at him and what he did at Fulham. Why should we bring a boy in and then tell him he is midfielder number nine? It makes no sense. You have to leave the doors open for the boys. I really don’t understand the discussion about the midfielders.”


“We always try to improve, and we can improve internally as well. They can put pressure on the more experienced guys for sure,” adds Klopp.

“By the way, Tyler Morton in training, incredible! He plays as a No 8 now. We don’t force him to play as a controlling No 6 in a Premier League game. He’s training as an eight, and it’s like ‘wow, how good is that?!’ He’s still here.

“There’s really a lot of excitement for this situation from our side, and like I say, if you want guarantees, then you have to look somewhere else. We work a lot with expectations, and our starting point most of the time is very positive. That’s worked out more often than not.”

 

Everything that Klopp says makes total sense. I’m totally comfortable with our current squad. The one thing that is not explained, is why would Liverpool go so strongly after Touchameni if Liverpool are so happy with the midfield options?

I think there is one thing that those who want another midfielder can still hang onto. Klopp says that nobody has asked to leave yet, and if that happens that could change things. The most likely candidate for this is Oxlade-Chamberlain. When listing his midfield options, he mentions Ox last. When describing what each midfielder provides to the squad, what he says about Ox is least convincing.

I think when we face Man United on Tuesday, Klopp will name two completely different teams in each half, and Ox might not get into either of them. There is a still a lot of time in the transfer window for Chamberlain to move away. In that case, Liverpool might have another midfield signing lined up. Maybe one that’s more of a Touchameni type of player. Then we can continue to wait for Bellingham next summer.

 

I love Klopp. Never puts players down and make them feel part of the collective.

That's why almost all ex-players wax poetic about him.

 

sure is. They sold a cb to ajax for 22m - so they needed a new player with experience.

 

Did these clubs know they're our feeder clubs?

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spo...gen-klopp-liverpool-transfer-targets-24516861

 

he's really good