Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp spoke about his Anfield debut, the transfer situation and preparations ahead of the Reds’ second Premier League game of the season against Brentford on Sunday night at 23:30 BST.
Klopp said: “This is my first league game at Anfield, I am looking forward to it. Hopefully, the fans will be twice as enthusiastic as they were against Ipswich – they were really enthusiastic that day – it will help the team. But I’m not nervous at all. If you’re too nervous, it’s not good, because it means you don’t trust the team. I trust the players and I trust everything we’ve done this week.”
Speaking about transfers, Klopp said: “If you follow the news, you know one deal has been done. Don’t worry, I have a good team already. Some young players left in the summer? If young players want to develop, they have to play. We have a lot of young players, the team will always nurture young players, but if you have Van Dijk or Salah in your position, sometimes young players have to leave because if they want to play more and are not happy with 5-6 minutes, then you have to let him go to another place to develop”.
Speaking about the team, Klopp said: “We are in good shape at the moment. I am getting to know the players every day, and how to work with them. The players are training well, which is very helpful. I’m still learning new things, which is normal, some players have only been working with us for three weeks.”
Speaking about the competition for centre-back, Klopp said: “Van Dijk only returned three weeks ago, which had some impact on him, but he has been good during his time with us, showing his care for the team. He needs to perform well, because there are four players fighting for two positions, but obviously, as long as Van Dijk is healthy, he will play.”
Speaking about Gravenberch, Klopp said: “I think he has the qualities we need for the number 6 position, but he has only played this position three times, against Manchester United, Sevilla and Ipswich, he still has a lot to prove, but so far, he has been good.”
Speaking about the situation of Kwansah after the last game, Klopp said: “We talked after the last game, he got injured on Tuesday, couldn’t train on Wednesday, we’ll see again today, I don’t think I have too many problems with him, maybe it’s a language misunderstanding, I said Kwansah lost some challenges, but it was reported that I said he lost every challenge. The next day I told everyone that the team (last round) was not good in the first half, but it wasn’t Kwansah’s problem.”
Speaking about Joe Gomez’s absence from the last matchday squad, Klopp said: “He’s been back for three weeks, we had to ease his load, that’s why he was missing last game, he’s been training well, it’s been a good week for him, his future? At this point, I want everyone to be here, but in the world of football, anything can happen.”
Speaking about the opponents, Klopp said: “I think Brentford have signed two talented players (Vandendberghe, Fabio Carvalho). They left because they played a lot of games last season and wanted to play more, but the competition here is too fierce, they can’t play every minute. In short, I hope they don’t perform too well on Sunday!”
This article is from a user submission and does not represent the views of Soccer News Pick. If you repost it, please indicate the source: https://www.soccernewspick.com/premier-league/22410.html
