Here is your Liverpool morning digest or Saturday, February 25.
Jurgen Klopp sends message FSG 'cannot ignore'
Jurgen Klopp has given the clearest indication yet that Liverpool's summer will involve a significant and costly rebuild.
And the Reds boss admits his recruitment team will be forced to identify players before the club know if they have Champions League football next season as the manager eyes a summer shake-up.
Tuesday's 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid was the Reds' 11th of the campaign and the first time the club have shipped five in a European game at Anfield. The humbling reverse leaves them with a mountain to climb in the Spanish capital next month as the European champions became the eighth team to score three or more against Klopp's men this term.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp shares Liverpool injury update as changes confirmed for Crystal Palace
READ MORE: Every word as Jurgen Klopp drops major hint on Liverpool summer transfer plans and ownership
Midfield has been a glaring issue for the Reds all season while the concession of so many goals, particularly since the turn of the year, has also increased the scrutiny on the defence. Calls have been growing for some time about the need for a significant restructuring in the summer transfer market.
Klopp says he is uneasy discussing the work that will need to be undertaken behind the scenes when there are still 16 games to play in the Premier League but more than hinted at a sizable outlay in the summer months, regardless of whether or not Anfield will host Champions League football from August.
"I always have the same say [in transfers]," Klopp said. "I cannot decide, at all, about money. Not about one penny. It is always the same. The old-school managers maybe had a budget and could work like this, it is not that way. Has the way we identify players changed? No. It is exactly the same.
"It's not helpful [if we don't get Champions League]. Money always has an impact. But this cannot be that much of an impact, let me say it like this. Of course it is influential but this is a summer where we have to be in the market, definitely.
"I am sorry that we cannot guarantee the Champions League at this moment but it's not done yet, we will fight for it, so we don't have to talk about it as though it is not possible. But it is tricky and difficult and if [we qualify], it will be a late decision, I guess.
"We have to start doing work earlier than before we know where we will end up position-wise and European competition-wise, so these things are clear here."
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Liverpool's transfer approach won't change
Jurgen Klopp was back in front of the media on Friday as he spoke ahead of Liverpool’s weekend trip to Crystal Palace.
The Reds have won their last two Premier League games against Everton and Newcastle United, but were brought crashing back down to earth by Real Madrid in midweek as a 5-2 defeat at the hands of reigning European champions left them on the verge of elimination.
Despite that loss, Klopp was in good spirits at his latest media briefing. And the German had plenty to say with an injury update and the club’s transfer plans all on the agenda. Here’s what we learned from the AXA Training Centre…
Transfer approach won’t change
Liverpool are expected to make a number of transfers this summer, with their midfield in desperate need of revamp. As a result, it is likely to be the Reds’ most busy window for many a year.
Klopp acknowledged that changes are needed, and hinted a little impatience when explaining why Liverpool have had to wait to overhaul their squad. But in a passionate defence of the Reds’ transfer policy, he also made it clear their careful approach is unlikely to change.
“The way this club is led is by not splashing the money and having a look at if it works out or not,” he explained. “Our transfers always have to be on point. So that makes it really tricky where we cannot make four transfers before we know who will leave the club.
Considering Liverpool arguably need three midfielders and a centre-back this summer, at least, you wonder if Klopp’s example of four transfers was a number plucked out of thin air or an actual hint at what could still be to come.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
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