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Jurgen Klopp has warned that Liverpool cannot afford to be left behind this summer and has highlighted the danger posed by signing their rivals.
Liverpool are in transition and scrutiny on them has intensified after Real Madrid skewered them, the 5-2 defeat putting them on the brink of Champions League elimination.
With erratic domestic form, there’s no guarantee they’ll be in that competition next season.
Klopp knew that a bump in the road was coming and that is why he signed a contract last April that runs until 2026.
Circumstances meant he was unable to make a significant overhaul in the offseason, but he wants to change that in the next window.
Jurgen Klopp has said he is worried about Liverpool’s big rivals ahead of a summer rebuild.
Liverpool are in transition and scrutiny has intensified after Real Madrid’s 5-2 thrashing left them on the verge of elimination from the Champions League.
‘I have nothing to do with it. So I think we’ve played five years in a row in the Champions League, which is huge and we’ve been to the final three times in that time, which is huge financially. We built a grandstand and a training ground and the club is in a very good place.
The landscape has changed, with clubs Manchester, Chelsea and Newcastle set to spend big and Klopp has explained this to Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, emphasizing the need to be equally aggressive. Jude Bellingham is the main target, but more additions are needed.
“My job is to make it 100 per cent clear what we need from a sporting point of view and then other people are responsible for giving us the resources,” Klopp said, insisting behind-the-scenes changes such as the departure of sporting director Julian Ward – have not altered the recruitment process.
‘But all around us, some people are picking up a bit of speed and you can’t ignore that. You can’t ignore that. It’s still about bringing in the right players, it’s not about bringing in a lot.
‘It’s about the right player. And thank God in the world of football there are many correct players.
“Not everyone is affordable or wants to come, but there are a lot of really good players.” That is.
‘The only reason I don’t like to talk about it too much right now is because there are so many games to play. This (current) team is the foundation of what we do and has always been the foundation.
I always have the same opinion. I can’t decide, at all, about money. It’s not about a penny. It is always the same. Old school managers maybe had a budget and could work like that, they don’t.’
John W Henry, the main owner of Liverpool, said he was “optimistic” that it would find new investment.
John W. Henry, Liverpool’s principal owner, said this week he was “optimistic” it would find new investment, stressing in an interview with the Boston Sports Journal that the club was not for sale.
“I’m optimistic when he’s optimistic because it’s his business,” said Klopp, whose team faces Crystal Palace on Saturday night.
‘I am not involved in the search for investors. Not yet! That would be fun! May be, by the way, I did it once in Dortmund!
If Liverpool don’t finish in the top four, they will be vulnerable if it comes to chasing down the likes of Bellingham, but Klopp doesn’t think there will be too much of a financial commitment if they finish outside the top places for the first time since. 2016.
“It’s not useful (if we don’t get into the Champions League) as money always has an impact,” Klopp said.
Bellingham is his main summer target and Klopp urged the Reds to be aggressive on the market.
‘But this can’t have that much impact, let me put it that way. But of course it is influential but this is a summer in which we have to be in the market, definitely.
“I’m sorry, we can’t guarantee the Champions League right now, but it’s not done yet, we’ll fight for it, so we don’t have to talk about it like it’s not possible.”
‘But it’s tricky and difficult and if [we qualify]It will be a late decision I guess.
‘We have to get to work before we know where we’ll end up position-wise, so these things are clear here.
‘Now you know what we will do, not exactly, but what we will do. From now on we can talk about the wonderful football we play, when we play it.’