Liverpool’s new manager Jurgen Klopp had little time for a question about the chances of his former superstar Marco Reus joining him on Merseyside, reports the Guardian.
Upon his arrival, a number of players have been spuriously linked with a transfer to Liverpool, but in truth – Klopp will have been focussing solely on getting to know his current squad rather than trying to replace any of them – especially considering the transfer window doesn’t open for a two and a half months.
“I absolutely don’t care about this,” the German said when asked about Reus and other targets, laying down the law and silencing the tiresome tabloids who’ve been continually linking every former Klopp player to Anfield since his appointment.
“If we cannot sign a player like him then we are not interested in him. We will have to take other players. The whole world plays football, there are players everywhere.
SEE MORE:
Ruben Neves heavily linked with £29m Liverpool move (And where the story came from)
Borussia Dortmund send Liverpool classy message as their legendary boss joins Reds
“It is only here that money is such a big thing. It is money, money, money. OK, there is much money. You don’t have to spend all the money. You can hold it and make something else. Of course, not having Champions League football is a problem, it is a negative. Of course, it should be a target for all ambitious teams to play in the Champions League, for sure. But only four go in. You have to fight for it, not just talk about it. You don’t have to speak always.
“You have to look at which players are reachable and not dream of this player or that player and then say: ‘But they don’t want to come to Liverpool.’ If a player doesn’t want to come to Liverpool then stay away. Really. If you think about the weather, stay away. If you think about other things, stay away. If you want to come here, you are welcome. That is the first and most important issue.”
The comments, like nearly all of Klopp’s so far, are invigorating and inspirational. While Brendan Rodgers used to complain about not having to proper ‘tools’ to do the job, Klopp is only interested in players who want to represent Liverpool.
And he proved during his time in Germany that he can attract talented players for small fees and develop them into world-class ones. Mats Hummels, Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and the aforementioned Reus all joined BVB under Klopp’s leadership and are now recognised as some of Europe’s best players.
If he can maximise the ability of our current, young crop of players, the transfer market will be an afterthought only.