Hit or miss? Assessing 10 of Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund recruits

14 October 2015 09:08

Rumours are already beginning to circulate regarding potential transfer targets for new Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. The January transfer window is the first opportunity the German has to improve his squad. It is not clear whether Fenway Sports Group will give Klopp to the opportunity to spend big in the New Year or whether he will have to make do with the current crop of players. Big name players such as Robert Lewandowski have been linked with a re-union with Klopp however it is highly unlikely that the most in-form striker in the world at this time would swap the Allianz Arena for the grasses of Anfield.

Liverpool fans watched Brendan Rodgers and the club’s infamous transfer committee spend in the region of £300m on new recruits during his time at the club; only a handful could be labelled a success. Overspending on players such as Adam Lallana and Christian Benteke, coupled with the failures of Mario Balotelli and Dejan Lovren; on top of players who were never cut out to wear a Red shirt such as Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas and Rickie Lambert did not give Liverpool the calibre of players they needed to replace the likes of Luis Suarez.

Klopp’s tenure at Dortmund was similar to his current situation at Anfield. Although Liverpool spend big during Rodgers’ tenure at the club, their spending power is no match for the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United. Klopp at Dortmund often saw his best players depart for bigger clubs with Mario Gotze and Lewandowski swapping the yellow of BVB for the red of Bavaria.

Klopp also had to work with a limited budget during his time in Germany but how have the 48 year old’s recruits fared?

Mats Hummels

One of Bayern Munich’s biggest mistakes was allowing academy prospect Mats Hummels to leave the club at the age of 19. Hummels had been with Bayern since the age of six and initially joined Dortmund on loan in 2008. Klopp signed the German defender on a permanent transfer for just £3m after impressing at the heart of defence and forming a solid partnership with Neven Subotic. Hummels developed under Klopp to become one of the most sought after defenders in the world. Hummels oozes class and became a World Cup winner with Germany last year partnering Bayern’s Jerome Boateng at the back. The 26 year old rejected the advances of Manchester United in the summer to stay at the Signal Iduna Park for yet another season and his reported market value is around £24m; offering a serious return on Klopp’s investment.

VERDICT: Hit

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Source: DSG