Liverpool coach Klopp: “We miss top quality, especially in attack”

LFC transfers in prospect

Ninth place in the table, 15 points behind league leaders Arsenal, most recently two defeats against alleged relegation candidates from Nottingham and Leeds: Liverpool FC is in crisis and impatience in the club’s environment is growing. Reds coach Jürgen Klopp has criticized the lack of freshness in the past few weeks in view of the exhausting game plan and has repeatedly appealed to his team’s attitude and fighting spirit (“There is no alternative but to fight through it”), slogans of this kind are found around Anfield Road in view of the lack of results, however, less and less attention. Before the upcoming Champions League duel with SSC Napoli (from 9 p.m. in the TM live ticker), the 55-year-old had to face critical questions about the quality and prospects of his squad and his personal future.

Despite the recent extension to 2026, the latter was also partly questioned by supporters and in the media – Klopp’s requirements would overwhelm the team, too little was invested in the squad last summer, can be heard from these directions. In the summer, Liverpool spent €95.3m, significantly less than other top teams in the league on the transfer market, with center forward Darwin Núñez, who came from Benfica for €80m for €80m and struggled to adapt, particularly in the first phase of the season had to fight.

Asked if the squad of last season’s runners-up and Champions League finalists exceeded their holding time, Klopp replied that any definitive conclusions on his side’s condition were premature, mainly due to prevailing injury problems: “The verdict on that will come later fall in the season or maybe at the end of the season. Then you could say, ‘Ok, that’s obviously it for this group of players or whatever. Or for this coach, if you will.’ The question is then asked, but right now it’s not 100% fair to judge the team because we never had everyone available.”

Although Liverpool now have the sixth-best goal quota in the league with 23 goals, Klopp is particularly concerned about the situation on the offensive: “We miss top quality, especially in attack, which is not helpful. That doesn’t mean the others aren’t of the highest quality, but with the amount of games we’ve had we would normally make changes and we can’t do that. It’s been a very similar situation in midfield for a long time. A lot of players who were out came back and then were out again. We’ve had it pretty much everywhere. Even if it’s unfair, it’s okay, it’s normal, this is our life. You are absolutely right to ask such questions, but we will have to answer that correctly later,” said the former Dortmund player. The best scorer in the squad after twelve matchdays with six goals is ex-Hoffenheimer Roberto Firmino (31), whose contract expires at the end of the season.

According to media reports, a renewed attack on the market in the coming summer is a done deal, the gap in central midfield caused by injury is to be filled as early as winter, reported “Sky” reporter Florian Plettenberg a few days ago. According to the “TimesA transfer with a similar impact to those of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson – together the two players paid almost €150m in 2018, the coming transfer window could be a costly proposition for the club with these figures in mind.

Liverpool coach Klopp: “People say ‘He looks tired'”

A clear victory in the “premier class” could theoretically let Liverpool overtake the current leaders of Group A from Naples, but the probability of such a thing is rather low given the recent form of the Italians – especially since Liverpool is already set as group runners-up and sure for that qualified for the round of 16. Against this background, the forthcoming away game at Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday seems almost more important.

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Klopp is in his seventh year at Anfield, raising doubts about his own ‘fire’ for the difficult challenges ahead, the manager brushed aside: “When people look at me they say, ‘He looks tired.’ That is normal. But I’m not. I cannot give that apology. My job isn’t just to be here at that moment when the sun is shining and someone is handing us a trophy. It’s also my job to be here when we’re going through a really difficult time – and I will do that with everything I have and more if possible. It’s a tough moment, no doubt about that, and nobody flies here like life is great. But there is only one way to face this situation. Tackle it and we will do it.”

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