Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that the Reds cannot compete with Manchester City in the transfer market and must rely on squeezing every last drop out of the quality they already have.
City have smashed the British transfer record this summer by making Jack Grealish the first £100m Premier League player and are still interested in also signing Harry Kane. Liverpool, on the other hand, have spent £36m on Ibrahima Konate and are unlikely to make more additions.
Klopp sees a similar situation with Manchester United, who have brought in Jadon Sancho for £73m, and Chelsea, who have re-signed Romelu Lukaku in a deal worth £97.5m.
The Liverpool boss has explained that any player Liverpool might sign to try and directly compete with that spending would likely have to rival the 2018 captures of Alisson (£67m) and Virgil van Dijk (£75m). But instead, he is focusing on getting it right on the pitch.
“Whoever we would buy, there is no guarantee that we would be ahead of Manchester City because they can obviously always strike back. It’s like you try something and the next moment they buy two or three,” Klopp told Sky Sports.
“It would probably be the most expensive signings we made since Ali and Virgil. But comparing with other teams is like comparing with other couples. You might think [another woman] is more beautiful but then you find out she is annoying all day, so that’s how it is.”
Klopp explained that Liverpool’s squad is fine as it is as long they have a little bit more luck with injuries that last season when Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip were long-term absentees. But, ultimately, the game is played on the pitch and not in the transfer market.
“We have to beat [City] in the moment when we meet them and not by having the more exciting squad. They are all really great players, Jack Grealish, come on, what a boy, and if Harry Kane is going there as well, that doesn’t make City worse, that’s for sure.
“With Manchester United and Chelsea it is exactly the same, we all know that. But in the end we still have to play football and our football, if we can really bring it on the pitch, is not comfortable for other teams [to play against]. That’s what we have to make sure, and then they can still have all the quality they have. We have quality and the plan is to squeeze everything out of us this season.”
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Source: 90min
