Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has shut down talk that the Reds need to sign a midfielder during the summer transfer window.
When asked about strengthening his options in the middle of the park, Klopp replied by listing the players he already has at his disposal:
“We can go through it. Where do you want to start? So, Fabinho, [Jordan] Henderson, Thiago, [James] Milner, [Naby] Keita, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain. Now you tell me what kind of player are we missing? One who is offensive, 1.95m and arrives into the box to head balls in?”
Klopp does generally give short shrift to transfer speculation so his comments aren’t a surprise but supporters on Twitter were nonetheless disappointed with what they heard:
he's serious ?!!
— ryvvus 🇩🇿 🇵🇹 (@AymenBengourina) July 11, 2022
Ain’t no way he thinks we got a good midfield
— Sebbe187 (@WesterholmSebbe) July 11, 2022
I love Klopp, but he wanted to spend £75 mill on Tchoumeni so clearly there’s something missing in midfield loool
— Baz (@Barry93Garry) July 11, 2022
We have quantity over quality in that list. Only a handful are outstanding.
— LFC World Champions (@LFCWorldChampi1) July 11, 2022
Jurgen would never say it publicly but we definitely need one top midfielder to what we got there is no doubt
— Bizzle (@Bigbouy0776) July 11, 2022
That midfield is no where near city's level in midfield
— Harry (@Harry32906499) July 11, 2022
Klopp knows what Liverpool is missing 😄
— Raphael Goredema – CBA (@RaphaelGoredema) July 11, 2022
As some fans point out, the pursuit of Aurelien Tchouameni does suggest that Klopp isn’t completely happy with his midfield options, no matter what he says in public.
The Frenchman was pursued by the Reds, along with Chelsea and Manchester United, but he eventually ended up moving to Real Madrid instead.
However, as we have seen with Liverpool before, they won’t go into the market just for the sake of it. They will wait for the right target to become available before making their move.