Jurgen Klopp has built a legacy at Liverpool that wouldn’t have been possible without the team he has built around him but there could have been one more familiar face part of it all.
Speaking with liverpoolfc.com, Kolo Toure discussed the end of his Anfield career: ‘My last game for the club was the Europa League final defeat to Sevilla. But the truth is, I had an opportunity to stay.
‘I spoke to Jürgen and he told me my contract wasn’t going to be renewed – but he did, however, want me as a coach in his backroom team. That was massive for me.
‘I think I was in Africa when he made the call, ‘Kolo, we want to keep you but I want you in my coaching staff.’ I told him I needed to think about it’.
Although our former No.4 did think about it, he made the decision to have one more year playing under Bredan Rodgers at Celtic and then joined his coaching staff instead.
Some may say that, seeing as both these men were sacked from their respective managerial roles this season, we may have gotten away with signing a coach that wasn’t up to our standard but you can only trust our manager’s judgement.
Having a player with the experience and likability of the former Arsenal defender, combined with a clear admiration from the boss, would only make for a brilliant member of the team.
The German once said in a press conference (via The Express): ‘Kolo is a very, very important player for us, even when he doesn’t play. He’s one of the most impressive people I have met’ – but even this wasn’t enough to convince him to stay.
With James Milner set to leave the club this summer too, it’ll be interesting to see if any such offer has been made to our vice-captain and whether he or we may rue the outcome one day in the future.