Jurgen Klopp likes to work with what he has got – he ain’t no chequebook manager.
“Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players, yes. Do I have to do it differently to that? Actually, I want to do it differently. I would even do it differently if I could spend that money.”
This idealistic early season statement was taken as a dig at Jose Mourinho and Manchester United, who had just shelled out the GDP of a small island nation on Paul Pogba.
Klopp likes to work with what he has got, but when what he has got includes Dejan Lovren and a defence that appears about as solid as the stems on his regularly airborne glasses, Liverpool fans might prefer a little bit more activity in the January transfer window.
He was talking like a man in the market for a defender after the comedy stylings of Lovren and Ragnar Klavan handed Swansea an historic 3-2 win at Anfield on Saturday.
Kopp sounds like an angry, confused man in the market for a defender #LIVSWA pic.twitter.com/8ntEozLuXc
— Mikey Stafford (@me_stafford) January 21, 2017
However, speaking ahead of Liverpool’s League Cup semi-final second leg against Southampton, Klopp all but ruled out throwing money at his defensive problems.
Steven Gerrard has called on the Reds to sign Virgil van Dijk from the Saints, who lead 1-0 after the first leg, but Klopp is ready to work with what he has got.
“As much as I like Sadio (Mane), it’s not that we had problems because we missed Sadio. We made other mistakes, not because we’re not scoring enough goals. We scored enough goals to win the games,” said Klopp.
“You always speak about defence, or players. I speak about the whole defence of the team. If it was to buy one player and fix it, I’d be silly not to do it but it’s not that simple.”
So Klopp’s defence is so messed up, signing one commanding, powerful defender like Van Dijk will not fix things. Instead he is planning on fixing what he has – it’s a novel approach in the Premier League.
They're struggling and need help badly…https://t.co/CAU3aXJlYY
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 23, 2017
Dismissing the transfer window’s magical ability to fix his problems will not get the totaliser ticking on Sky Sports News, but it will gain an approving nod from the North East.
David Moyes was asked similar questions last week about bringing in some fresh talent to (re)invigorate Sunderland’s bid for survival. His attitude is similar to Klopp’s, if somehow way more depressing. Especially if you’re a Black Cats fan.
“I’d be kidding you if I said the players we are going to bring in will make a big difference,” said Moyes. “We probably couldn’t get that level of player — and we probably wouldn’t have the finances to do it. Our funds are limited with a capital L.”
What is the transfer window even for. We’re all going to die one day anyway.
Cheers, Dave.
