Roberto Firmino & Klopp
Last summer Jurgen Klopp was constantly forced to defend Liverpool’s lack of business in the transfer market. One week ahead of the closure of the summer window the boss was asked about the club’s lack of expenditure.
Jurgen Klopp said ” There was never the intention to spend again because of the team we had last year which is a wonderful age group. It’s only in England where you come up with ‘now bring in more quality and new faces’ and all that stuff at the end of a season. Divock Origi has a new contract and all the others have stayed – that is transfer business. I know people smile and even laugh about it, that’s just how it is. But keeping a team like this together is not easy. Half the world would like to have these guys. And they (other clubs) don’t throw nuts – they have money as well! It’s like this. We wanted to keep that team together and it means consolidation, pay the bills, play football, go for everything then after the season we can have a look what happened. But this team deserves another year together – that’s how it is. So absolutely it’s a bonus just keeping these guys together for another year.”
Despite claims European champions Liverpool should kick on from a position of strength, that was it for Klopp. He held his nerve. The Liverpool boss was right. And now he’s got a squad that is battle-hardened and experienced. Not only has Klopp been able to keep this band of brothers together, but he has also had the season he would have hoped for when putting an end to transfer talk last August.
Jurgen Klopp has turned Liverpool into a winning machine and Trent Alexander-Arnold says this is down to a flexible tactical approach and instilling his immense passion into the squad.
Trent Alexander-Arnold said “He gives us all a lot of freedom so it’s very much the case that the players play to their strengths and are able to do that in different ways in the systems that we play. I think it’s important that the team buys into that and the manager obviously understands what we need to do to win games. He’s been like that for the time he’s been here, so he’s transformed the club in an amazing way and going forward there’ll hopefully be a lot more success with him. You can see on the touchline and in his interviews after and before the games, he’s so passionate about the game and passionate about winning. We see it every day in training and it’s important for us that he gives us those messages. He’s not only just helping us win, he’s giving us the mentality to be able to overcome any circumstance during a game.”
Klopp has played down his role at the club, thanking the team he has assembled around him and the owners for keeping the pressure off him. The league title seems wrapped up already, but Klopp and his squad have been sure to not count their chickens, insisting that nothing is over till it is over.
Joe Gomez believes Takumi Minamino is an ‘unbelievable addition’ to the Liverpool squad and claims the winger has already adapted well to Jurgen Klopp’s ‘gegenpressing’ style of play.
Joe Gomez said “Takumi Minamino is a happy, positive guy. He’s got a nice aura to him. To be fair, everyone was aware of him from when we played him, the effect he had. When he came to Anfield, how well he done and how well he took the game. His desire to press and adapt to our style of play. The gaffer wants us to play a certain way and he has that tenacity about him, to want to get about and put pressure on. An unbelievable addition.”
The Japan international was officially unveiled as a Liverpool player on January 1 after the Premier League giants triggered a £7.25million release clause in his contract at Salzburg.
