Jurgen Klopp has made a thinly-veiled dig at Chelsea’s approach to the transfer market – on the same day Liverpool were beaten to the signing of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.
The Blues have agreed a transfer deal worth £115million – which includes £15m in add-ons – for the Ecuadorian international. The Chelsea deal follows days of high drama as Liverpool had a British record transfer fee of £111million accepted by the Seagulls for the 21-year-old.
The deal will take Chelsea’s summer transfer spending past the £300million mark following the arrivals of Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Axel Disasi, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez, and Angelo – while they are also hopeful of beating the Reds to Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia in a £55m deal.
Since the new Chelsea ownership took control of the club last summer, over £800million has been spent on transfer fees. Enzo Fernandez is the current British transfer record while Wesley Fofana, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Marc Cucurella, and Raheem Sterling were other high-profile signings.
Liverpool have not been shy on spending themselves, albeit not on the same scale as their Premier League rivals. The club have splashed in the region of £95m on new arrivals Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai – but those have been the only incomings at Anfield this summer.
Klopp was asked in his post-match press conference after Sunday’s 1-1 draw between the sides to reflect on comments made by his counterpart Mauricio Pochettino that he wants more signings in at Stamford Bridge. The Reds boss cheekily responded: “That’s what each Chelsea manager wants and usually they get it.”
Klopp’s comments may hint at his own transfer frustrations this summer, having missed out on a deal for Caicedo and likely for Lavia. The Reds have had a relatively quiet window so far, especially in light of those who have gone from Anfield.
Jordan Henderson and Fabinho were both sold to Saudi Arabia, following the exits of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita as free agents. Those departures have left the Reds short on midfield options, while Roberto Firmino has also gone.
The Reds require more reinforcements and they now face a massive two weeks as they look to bolster their squad before the summer transfer window closes, while more incomings are expected at Stamford Bridge – where there have already been wholesale squad changes this summer.
