Jurgen Klopp has defiantly stated that Liverpool would still be a ‘very attractive’ club for which to sign this summer, even if the Reds miss out on next season’s Champions League.
A six-game winning run has taken the Merseysiders back into top-four contention in the Premier League, although Newcastle and Manchester United in third and fourth each have a game in hand.
The German was speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning ahead of Monday’s trip to Leicester when he said that, while missing out on Europe’s premier club competition would make it harder to entice players, Anfield remains a desirable destination for plenty of footballers.
As per Liverpool Echo, Klopp told reporters: “When I talk to a player, if I’m allowed which is barely the case, you can realise if they are interested, we are not 100% in the Champions League next season and they would know that. It’s one thing we can’t guarantee next year, but everything else is the same.
“It is a fantastic football club. We are still Liverpool and very attractive for a lot of players. I am not concerned about that. Of course it is more difficult without Champions League.”
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It’s no secret that the best players in Europe want to be competing in the Champions League, so for the likes of Liverpool, it’s essential to be involved in that tournament.
There remains a firm likelihood that the Reds will have to settle for Europa League football next season, but hopefully prospective summer transfer targets would look instead at what the club have achieved during Klopp’s Anfield tenure overall.
Whereas the 55-year-old took over a team in 2015 who were miles away from even competing for league titles, they’ve since gone on to be champions of England once and come within a point of winning it on two other occasions, despite points hauls of 97 and 92 respectively.
That’s not to mention three Champions League final appearances in five years (winning one), along with triumphs in the Club World Cup, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Under Klopp’s watch, players such as Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane have come in and excelled to a point where they’ve been considered among the world’s best players in their respective positions.
Even if Liverpool fall short in the hunt for a top-four finish this time around, you’d hope that potential new signings would still be attracted by the club’s near-unrivalled history, both in recent years and going back many decades.
You can view Klopp’s pre-Leicester press conference in full below, via Liverpool FC on YouTube: