It's time for your Liverpool FC evening headlines for Thursday, January 26.
Liverpool rebuild has stalled after Jurgen KIopp denied six new players
Only those Liverpool supporters who haven't been paying attention - and, given the form of the Reds this season, it's understandable - would have been surprised by the comments of Jurgen Klopp regarding the need to rebuild his team.
"It was one of the main reasons why I signed a new contract because I knew it’s necessary," the Liverpool boss told the BT Sport podcast Michael Calvin's Football People this week. “It will not go overnight. I know the majority of the outside world is just interested in the short term but we have to be long-term focused as well, and that’s what we are."
Klopp has long hinted at a rebuild - referring to a "transformation" of his team back in May - but the reality is the Reds squad has always evolved during his tenure. The debate at present, of course, is whether that process has been sufficiently accelerated over recent seasons.
Beyond doubt, though, is that Liverpool have been working with one eye on the future in their dealings in the transfer market since winning the Champions League in 2019. Of the 17 players they have paid money to recruit, only two - Thiago Alcantara and Ben Davies, the latter of whom didn't kick a competitive ball for the club - were aged over 24 when bought.
Around £230million has been committed to bringing in new players over the last 18 months alone. But those signings point to a conundrum with which Klopp has been grappling for much of the campaign.
Can a rebuild really be called such if it primarily involves using the same bricks in the same places? It would, to stretch the construction analogy, end up looking pretty much like the same house. Nothing much will have changed.
Read the full story HERE.
Stefan Bajcetic signs new Liverpool contract as Champions League squad change explained
Stefan Bajcetic has been rewarded for his breakthrough season at Liverpool with a new improved contract.
The 18-year-old, who made his first Premier League start in Saturday's goalless draw at home to Chelsea, has put pen to paper on a long-term deal that extends his Anfield commitment to the summer of 2027.
Bajcetic was snapped up from Celta Vigo in February 2021 for less than £250,000 as Liverpool's final Academy signing from overseas before the introduction of new Brexit rules restricting such transfers.
The teenager had been identified by Liverpool's Spanish scouts with his signing led by the head of senior Academy recruitment Matt Newbury, and the player's development at Kirkby overseen by Academy manager Alex Inglethorpe.
Bajcetic made his under-18s debut as an U16s player in April 2021 playing at centre-back before moving into midfield the following campaign, when he stepped up to U23 level and featured in the EFL Trophy and UEFA Youth League before his season was cut short by a back injury.
He was then called up for the senior squad's tour to Thailand and Singapore last summer, where he impressed Jurgen Klopp sufficiently to earn a place on the bench for the Premier League opener at Fulham in August.
Read the full story HERE.
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