Jurgen Klopp may have dropped a subtle transfer hint in his Friday morning press conference ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Newcastle this Sunday.
The manager reiterated his opposition to the Saudi Pro League’s transfer window remaining open for longer than its Premier League equivalent, amid rumours of interest from Al-Ittihad in Mo Salah, namedropping another English club in the process.
As per Daily Mail, the Reds boss said: “I understand that it is not cool for us (Saudi’s later transfer deadline). That is how it is.
“If we want a player from Wigan, I go there and they tell us the price and we probably pay it. The Bundesliga is like that if Bayern comes or Dortmund then Bielefeld or Mainz cannot react but there is a next level and it is not great.”
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Perhaps Klopp’s use of Wigan to illustrate his point about the financial disparities between certain clubs was wholly arbitrary, but as noted by SPORTbible, it hasn’t stopped some fans from speculating over a possible Liverpool raid on the League One outfit, and in particular Charlie Hughes.
The 19-year-old defender was previously part of the Reds’ academy and, as per WhoScored, is the highest-ranked teenager in the English third tier so far this season.
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The Merseysiders are no strangers to bringing in up-and-coming talent from other clubs in Britain, as the acquisitions of Harvey Elliott and Ben Doak illustrate, so it’s not unthinkable that they could try to pounce on the Latics’ financial issues for one of their brightest young starlets.
It’s worth stressing that there aren’t any concrete transfer links between Liverpool and Wigan at the moment, so maybe Klopp’s mention of the League One side was a mere throwaway comment, although it could yet turn out to be a subtle transfer hint.
We’ll just have to wait and see if anything develops between the two clubs in the final week of the summer transfer window.
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