Klopp doubts Liverpool will sign another midfielder this summer
Liverpool have been hit by injury problems, but Jürgen Klopp says it is unlikely a new midfielder will be signed to strengthen the squad.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has expressed doubt that the club will sign a new midfielder before the close of the transfer window, though he hinted it was something he had previously considered. The Reds’ push for the Premier League title got off to a slow start on the opening weekend as they had to come from behind twice in a 2-2 draw against newly promoted Fulham.
Midfield injury crisis
Thiago Alcântara limped off during that game, joining fellow midfielders Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the sidelines – though Klopp revealed that Keita will return for Monday’s game against Crystal Palace. With options limited, recent reports have linked Liverpool with Sporting midfielder Matheus Nunes, while the Reds have been attributed with long-term interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham.
Further additions in the market are unlikely, however, with Klopp stating that “conversations” have already taken place and that the “right solutions” are not available.
“I’m happy with the size and quality of my squad, but we have injuries. It’s a question of how long the players will be out, there are different solutions for it,” he told a news conference on Friday. “One of them is the transfer market, but it only makes sense if you can bring in the right player, not just a player, if it was the right player it would make sense. But we actually would have done that from the first day of the transfer window, from the first day of the pre-season, in some cases it’s just not possible and in other cases it’s extremely difficult. If something is not possible, why should I consider it? All of the other solutions are inside the squad. At the moment, we have too many injuries, that’s clear. We have a couple of boys coming back, Naby will be back for Monday and Kostas [Tsimikas] will train today for the first time, so he might be back as well. That’s the situation. I understand the questions but if there were the right solutions, we would have done it already. We’re not stubborn or whatever, it’s just that it’s not the right thing to do.
“People told me at the start of the season that we lack a specific kind of midfielder,” he continued. “I didn’t understand that because if you search for specific things, then you always lack something. If there was the right player and if there was the opportunity, then we would have done it, we would do it, but I don’t see it because we’ve had a lot of conversations already and it doesn’t look like something that will happen.”