Jurgen Klopp has repeatedly insisted that further incomings this summer will be unlikely without injuries or an exit forcing the club’s hand.
The German may have hinted at change of heart in that regard, however, as John Gibbons, of The Anfield Wrap, on Twitter spotted a similarity between quotes from the manager prior to the signings of Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies in 2021 and his recent transfer comments.
Just spoke to @ptgorst for @TheAnfieldWrap about the Jurgen Klopp comments that have come out overnight as Paul was in the room. Podcast out later today. However it did occur to me that the quotes reminded me of these in January 2021. Anyone else? A week later we had 2 new CB's pic.twitter.com/dShZIXP7Sc
— John Gibbons (@johngibbonsblog) August 22, 2022
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“Now we have more injuries than we would have imagined and now it would be cool to have a new midfielder in, of course – but for now, and then we don’t know when the boys come back and the situation changes constantly,” the 55-year-old told reporters ahead of the visit to Old Trafford.
“You can just not do that and then there is another fact: I am, we are, not in charge of what we can spend.
“That’s the situation and we get told things and then we deal with that.”
Despite the former Mainz tactician’s insistence on the matter of him feeling satisfied with our current options (when all fit), the reality remains that the clear approaches for both Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni signify a desire to expand the department in question.
A move away from Germany will come a summer too soon for the former and the latter evidently favoured a switch to the Spanish capital over Merseyside.
A refusal to stump up the required £38m up front to prise reported target Matheus Nunes away from Sporting Lisbon indicates that not any midfield addition will do – as we’ve come to expect previously from Michael Edwards and, now, Julian Ward.
We shouldn’t expect that to change any time soon, though we should likewise not be inclined to rule out the possibility of further incomings should our current crisis take a turn for the worse.
#Ep57 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Nunez madness! Fabinho to be dropped v Man Utd?… & more!