Jurgen Klopp is under huge pressure to deliver at Liverpool this season now that he has finally assembled his own squad.
Perhaps the German boss is feeling that pressure a little, or maybe he just wants to endear himself to Reds’ fans by having the occasional dig at bitter rivals Manchester United.
Either way, it comes across that Klopp has a bit of a chip on his shoulder this summer.
First, he insisted clubs shouldn’t be paying £100million for one player, clearly hinting at United’s imminent signing of Paul Pogba for around that fee.
Now, his latest comments, via the Liverpool Echo, reveal he’s not bothered about United’s capture of Henrikh Mkhitaryan from his old Borussia Dortmund, because he wouldn’t have wanted him at Liverpool.
“I had that player. If you have had players, you know more about them. You want to learn about other players. That’s how it is,” he said.
“I knew quite early that he was going this way [to United]. There was absolutely no reason for me to jump in there. That isn’t how we work.
“We didn’t look for players we had already worked with. If you do that, you know their good, their bad and you wonder whether you will do it again.”
To assess whether Klopp really wouldn’t have liked Mkhitaryan at Anfield, perhaps it’s best to take a quick look at his stats: 19 goals and 15 assists last season, all from BVB’s midfield. So really, who wants a player like that anyway?
It’s fair to say United have trumped Liverpool with their signings this summer, but it could be down to a battle of Klopp vs. Mourinho as to who makes the most of their squads.
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