Jurgen Klopp admitted ‘it would be cool to have a new midfielder in’ amid ongoing concerns around Liverpool’s available options in the middle of the park.
Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain sidelined, whilst a formerly ill – and reportedly unhappy – Naby Keita made a return to the matchday squad for the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
“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 former Dortmund boss told reporters in his latest pre-match press conference, as quoted by liverpoolfc.com.
“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.”
The Merseysiders are set to take on Manchester United in the English top-flight with an opportunity to close the gap to Manchester City on the table after Pep Guardiola’s men succumbed to their first draw of the season.
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Our German brushed aside concerns over the possibility of our No.8 parting ways with the club – an event that would leave us in dire straits during the current mini-injury crisis.
It’s interesting that Klopp brings finances into the equation when we were said to be prepared to fund a move for Aurelien Tchouameni who joined Real Madrid for a guaranteed £67.8m.
One can only assume that the club have their eyes on a more pricy target just beyond our reach this summer, or that the 55-year-old is merely referencing an inability to meet the wage demands of another option.
Either way, it seems the plan remains very much the same – focus on midfield additions in the next summer window.
#Ep57 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Nunez madness! Fabinho to be dropped v Man Utd?… & more!