“Part of the job is trying to bring in the best players you can get.”
Jurgen Klopp is definitely giving the impression that Liverpool will start 2018/19 with three frontline goalkeepers.
Alisson Becker has arrived from Roma for a world-record fee (for a goalkeeper) of £62.5m. He is set to start the season as Reds No.1 but Klopp has been keen to press the fact that he still values current goalies Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius.
Mignolet remains on his delayed summer break, after the World Cup, while Karius’ attempts to play his way through a slump in form are not going well. At all. Danny Ward has been sold to Leicester City while Cork’s Caoimhin Kelleher is contesting pre-season minutes with Karius.
Becker is expected to come in for the start of the Premier League season but Klopp is promoting a united image. However, asked by ESPN, about the Alisson transfer, Klopp tipped his hand towards another summer transfer target. He said:
“The goalkeeper market is a difficult place. It’s not every year that everyone is available.
“So we didn’t know exactly whether Alisson was available or not, and from the specific moment we found out he would be available, that is when we decided to go for him. That was not something he could be sure about. He had a contract with Roma.
“Everybody thinks it is a lot of money and it is a lot of money but they could have asked for crazy money.
“The clause for Oblak, for example, is £100m so… nice!”
That’s Atletico Madrid and Czech Republic No.1 Jan Oblak. Klopp did not juist pluck that name and figure out of the air as the 6-foot-5 stopper was high on his list when it became clear that a new goalkeeper was required.
Oblak was in the running for an Anfield switch over the summer but his release clause made negotiations difficult. The Czech international was reportedly content with Atletico, too, so it would have taken a decent package to tempt him to Merseyside.
Asked, too, about the social media and fan abuse Karius is being subjected too, ever since the Champions League final, the German said fans are entitled to cat-call at matches, even if he objects to it. As for social media, the nasty and personal element to interactions are why Klopp steers clear.
