Jurgen Klopp reveals what lack of Champions League football would mean for Liverpool transfer plans
Jurgen Klopp has insisted that failure to qualify for the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League will not hinder Liverpool in the summer transfer window.
The Reds currently sit in fifth place in the Premier League, just one point adrift of Manchester United having playing a game more than their arch rivals.
A few months ago Liverpool had seemingly no hope of qualifying for Europe's elite competition having started the 2022/23 season surprisingly poorly. Results have picked recently, however, with Liverpool winning their last five Premier League games on the bounce - results which have pushed them into top four contention.
Regardless of whether or not Liverpool catch fourth place United, Klopp has insisted in his latest pre-match press conference that the club's transfer plans will not be affected.
“At the moment, when you talk [to a player], you realise that he’s already clarified because we can’t tell anybody that we will be definitely in Champions League next year,' the German said.
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“So if he’s talking to us then it’s probably already clear that he knows about that situation. It’s obvious that we have to fight for being part of the Champions League and to fight for trophies. And if you want to be part of that, you’re more than welcome. It’s only one thing which we can’t guarantee this year and this is Champions League football.
“All the rest is the same like it was before. It’s a fantastic club with a really, really good football team and an even better one hopefully next year. So that’s it, and that’s not so difficult. I’ve barely faced the situation that you are in talks with the player and everything sounds great in the end, he says ‘ok, now, see you if that happens’.
“We’re still Liverpool and that means we are really attractive for a lot of players and we should not forget that. That’s why I’m not concerned about that fact.
“Everything is more difficult without Champions League, that’s how it is. Especially in the long term; we should not do these kind of things more often. Apart from that, it’s absolutely ok the situation we are in, from a talking point of view and from a convincing point of view.”
Liverpool have recently been linked with a number of players ahead of the summer transfer window, with 90min reporting that the club are keen to get a deal for Alexis Mac Allister over the line by the end of May.
The Reds have also sent scouts to check out Lens stars Kevin Danso and Seko Fofana, Eredivisie duo Jurrien Timber and Ibrahim Sangare, and Atalanta's Teun Koopmeiners.
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On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss all the latest transfer news. On the agenda: Aurelien Tchouameni, Lionel Messi, Moises Caicedo, Rafael Leao, Kim min-Jae, David de Gea, Dusan Vlahovic and more.
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