PREMIER LEAGUE
Klopp says “Ferraris” like Bellingham not in Liverpool’s range
The desire to get a top notch midfielder in at Anfield is not in doubt, but the manager highlights the club’s need to be realistic.
Liverpool had been seen as favourites to land the highly-prized Borussia Dortmund youngster not so long back, the midfielder identified as the ideal centre-point to the rebuild of a highly successful midfield in recent seasons. But the problem with elite prospects in the game like Jude Bellingham is that the elite clubs, some with incredibly deep pockets, are likely to play their hand at some point too. And when the financial stars align in a certain pattern, sometimes you need to step back and let things take the course you may not have originally set.
This is, at least publicly, the stance that The Reds have taken, announcing this week that the Englishman is beyond their means and they will instead focus on other targets to rejuvenate the engine room of the team. On Friday, manager Jürgen Klopp added to this message.
Forget Bellingham, says Liverpool’s Klopp
“It is not about Jude Bellingham,” the German began, while everyone was thinking he was still talking about Jude Bellingham. “I never understood why we talk about things we theoretically cannot have. We cannot have six players in a summer, everyone for £100 million [$125m]. Everyone would say that is clear.
“You have to realise what you can do and then work with it. That is your job. We are not children. When you ask a five-year-old what they want for Christmas and they tell you, ‘I don’t know, a Ferrari’, you wouldn’t say ‘that’s a good idea’ — you would say ‘that is too expensive and anyway you cannot drive it’. If this kid then was really unhappy because he didn’t get a Ferrari, it would be a really sad life.”
“You look what you can do, and you work with that. That is always how I worked,” Klopp continued. “What we need and what we want, we try everything to try to get but there are moments where we have to accept and step aside and do different things.”
“Super strange season”
As well as thoughts on new signings, Klopp also talked about the surprising inconsistency seen from his side across this campaign.
“It’s a super strange season. I think we all agree it hasn’t been our best season but we’ve also had two of our biggest wins in our history. We haven’t been consistent and that’s been the problem.”
Brighter Díaz ahead for Liverpool
Ahead of the trip to Elland Road to face Leeds on Monday evening, Klopp also gave fans the good news that one of his relatively new signings, Luis Díaz, would be likely be getting some pitch time after not featuring since October due to a knee injury.
“Yeah, he’s 100 per cent ready in training so that’s it now. He is now completely normal in training and now we have to reintegrate him. He will be in the squad, if nothing happens Luis will be in the squad and from there we go. That’s it.”
