Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has suggested that the club could once again hit the transfer market to solve their midfield crisis. The German’s comments came just before the Reds drew their second consecutive Premier League game of the new season, against Crystal Palace. They now have just two points from two games and are yet to win a game.
Liverpool, who were playing their first home game of the season at Anfield salvaged a point after the Eagles pit their noses in front. The Reds’ lack of options in the midfield was exposed as Fabinho alone couldn’t master the middle of the park without Thiago or Jordan Henderson. With injuries piling up, Klopp has now admitted that new midfielder(s) could be brought in.
Jurgen Klopp insists ‘situation has changed’ and new players are needed
Liverpool lost three of their first-team midfielders one after another to long-term injuries. While Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were ruled out before their season opener against Fulham, Thiago sustained a hamstring injury in that game. The Spaniard joined Jones and Chamberlain on the sidelines and the trio are now out for over a month.
Jurgen Klopp was left with only Henderson, Fabinho, Milner and Keita to pick from, but was still adamant that Liverpool won’t make any hasty moves in the transfer market. However, his side failed to dominate the midfield against a pacey Crystal Palace side, and Klopp as well has confessed that there is scope for new midfielders to be brought in.
Talking ahead of his side’s clash against Crystal Palace, Jurgen Klopp said: “The thing is, it is easy for us to bring a midfielder in, but it is not so easy to bring the right midfielder in. There are money reasons and contractual reasons which, most of the time, go hand-in-hand.
“It’s not that we deny signing a player if we have a problem with injuries, for example. But it is a completely different situation to the beginning of the pre-season when everybody told me we needed a new midfielder and that was about the kind of midfielder. That is a completely different discussion.”
However, he still reiterated that the club will only splash the cash if they find the ‘right’ midfielder. He continued, “We didn’t need a different kind of midfielder but if the right midfielder would have been available, we would have gone then as well. Now the situation has changed slightly- we have more injuries, that’s true. But it can still only be about the right [player] and that is not easy.
Liverpool are now being linked with a number of players as Sporting CP’s Matheus Nunes and RB Salzburg’s Luka Sucic the latest to emerge as targets. On the other hand, Jurgen Klopp reportedly wants to sign midfielders who already have the experience of plying their trade in the Premier League. With just over 10 days to go for the deadline day, it would be interesting to see who Liverpool snap up.