Jürgen Klopp has said Liverpool must act decisively on their transfer plans for this summer regardless of Champions League status or fresh investment because the increased spending power of Premier League rivals cannot be ignored.
The Liverpool manager has long maintained there need to be big changes to his squad at the end of the season, with Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham the leading target for a midfield overhaul. The prospect of Champions League football being on offer is in doubt, with Liverpool trailing Real Madrid 5-2 from the first leg of their last-16 tie and Tottenham by seven points in the race for fourth place, albeit with two games in hand.
Klopp is adamant that the potential loss of lucrative Champions League income should not undermine Liverpool’s transfer plans and that the club, seeking a sporting director to replace the outgoing Julian Ward, needs to move swiftly to secure its targets.
“It is not helpful,” said Klopp of failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League. “Money always has an impact but this cannot be that much of an impact, let me say it like this. It is a summer where we have to be in the market definitely. I’m sorry that I cannot guarantee Champions League but we fight for it and it is not done yet. But it is tricky and we have to start work [on recruitment] before we know where we will end up position-wise. These things are clear.”
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John W Henry, Liverpool’s principal owner, stated this week that he was confident of attracting new investment when confirming Fenway Sports Group does not intend to sell the club. Klopp welcomed the update — “I’m optimistic when John is optimistic, because that’s his business,” he said — but highlighted his team’s role in generating the funds that have transformed Liverpool and Anfield on FSG’s watch. He insisted the club could not afford to stand still given the growing threat around them, with Chelsea and Newcastle under wealthy ownership and Manchester United expected to follow suit.
“My job is to make 100 per cent clear what we need from a sports point of view and then other people are responsible for giving us the resources or whatever,” he said. “I think we played five years in a row in the Champions League, which is massive money, and went to the final three times in that time, which is also massive from a money point of view. We built a stand, we built a training ground, and the club is in a really good place, but around us obviously a few people are speeding up a little bit and you cannot ignore that.
“It is still about finding the right players, not about bringing in a lot, and thank God there are a lot of right players, though not all of them are affordable or want to come.”
Meanwhile, lawyers representing more than 800 Liverpool supporters who suffered injury and trauma in the chaos of the Champions League final last May have formally written to Uefa threatening to take legal action unless full compensation is paid.
The firm, Leigh Day, argues that the fans are entitled to compensation under French law for their physical and psychological injuries sustained in Paris. If Uefa does not accept it is liable for the failures at the final, or fails to agree compensation, Leigh Day has warned it will bring a claim in the high court in Liverpool.
