Liverpool’s boss Jurgen Klopp thinks the Premier League has actually shot itself in the foot in terms of transfers, because when everybody has money – nobody needs it…
Some of the fees for players this summer have been absurd, with Kyle Walker going for over £50m and Michael Keane for £30m, with just one year left on his contract.
Liverpool have been keen to get involved, but despite offering near £60m for both Naby Keita and Virgil van Dijk, have so far only been able to get our deal for Mo Salah over the line.
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Klopp saw the situation from afar while in Germany, but is struggling to fully comprehend it now he’s in charge of an English club – stating that players he’s never heard of sign for £25m.
“It is getting more and more difficult, that’s how it is, especially in England because clubs not only spend a lot of money but they don’t need the money you want to give them so that’s a problem,” Klopp told Sky Sports.
“The Premier League market is the most crazy, probably, but it was always from the outside view already like this. Players you had never heard about in Germany, you think £25m or whatever.
“Germany is still going along with a few nice little transfers, £5m here, £7m there and stuff like this. You cannot imagine youth players cost more in England, but only because the money is there. That’s how it is, it is like a closed circle.
“Money is not away, it is only just somewhere else. You maybe give it from one club to the other and get it back from another club. That’s the situation.
“But it is more and more difficult. The business starts really early but goes until the last second. But we want to have the players in training, we want to have them on the pitch in pre-season.”
On whether it’s trickier to sign players from other Premier League clubs, Klopp said: “Yes, that’s obvious. It was always probably difficult but I think in England it’s a real competition. So maybe one club doesn’t want to sell players to another club.”
Now we’re in July, we don’t expect anything to happen in terms of new signings imminently.
Klopp has no intention of turning Liverpool’s attentions to other central midfielders and defenders; and instead will only move to alternatives once Keita and van Dijk are completely 100% out of reach.
For this reason, we can see Liverpool starting the season with exactly the same squad, bar Salah and Dom Solanke, worryingly.