Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp recently made a shocking revelation about Jude Bellingham, saying that the Real Madrid midfielder was one of his top targets last summer. As the deal later seemed pointless to the German manager, he shifted his focus to another talented midfielder, Moises Caicedo.
The 22-year-old Ecuadorian, however, ditched Liverpool to join Chelsea as he was keen to sign a contract with the Blues. According to Klopp, his club kept track of Romeo Lavia but the Belgian international also preferred Chelsea over Liverpool.
Despite losing these potential deals, Liverpool were able to rope in some talented names during the last summer transfer window. Ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash against Chelsea, Klopp explained how they managed to resolve the issue back then.
“We were interested in Bellingham, realised it would not happen and we thought we could maybe do Caicedo so went in. But he had an emotional agreement already with Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino. Then Lavia had his own reasons, so we were there. Then we found our top solution,” Klopp said in a press conference.
As Klopp wanted to strengthen his midfield, Liverpool considered every possible option available in the transfer market. The club shelled out over £95 million to secure the services of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, who joined from Brighton and RB Leipzig respectively. Liverpool also signed 30-year-old defensive midfielder Wataru Endo from Stuttgart, while Ryan Gravenberch completed a £34 million move from Bayern Munich on the deadline day.
Klopp feels Liverpool were lucky to lose the deals of Caicedo and Lavia as it could make them spend nearly £100 million for each signing. The 56-year-old said, “We found Wataru (Endo), we already knew Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) could play the position and Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) was always on my radar. If one of the £100million signings had worked, there’s no chance to do another. That’s what I meant when I said we are so lucky. Everything in the ‘if not scenario’ worked out.”
Klopp is set to leave Anfield at the end of this season, having enjoyed tremendous success with Liverpool over the past few years. During his tenure, the Reds ended their long, 30-year wait for a top-flight title by winning the Champions League in the 2018-19 season.
Liverpool also secured the Super League and FIFA Club World Cup titles in the same year before becoming the Premier League champions in the following season. They are in contention to win the English league this season as well. With 48 points in 21 matches, Liverpool are currently at the top of the Premier League table.
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