JURGEN KLOPP BOOK

LIVERPOOL FC CELEBRATION

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA - Tuesday, August 25, 2020: Liverpool's manager Jürgen Klopp during the pre-match warm-up before a preseason friendly match between FC Red Bull Salzburg and Liverpool FC at the Red Bull Arena. (Pic by Propaganda)

Liverpool not in “dreamland” over signings, but “long time” until deadline – Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp has stressed that Liverpool will remain sensible in the transfer market, with no “dreamland” scenario as they wait to weigh up their options before deadline.

The Reds are yet to make major changes in the summer window, with Dejan Lovren sold and Kostas Tsimikas brought in, while the likes of Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne have left on free transfers.

It is unclear whether many more can be expected, either, as while a host of players are likely to leave, the current financial situation across the Premier League may restrict the club’s spending.

Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara is the high-profile target at this stage, but there appears to have been no developments in their pursuit of the 29-year-old, with Liverpool still looking to free up funds with sales.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of the Community Shield on Saturday, Klopp repeated the line “we will see” regarding any further signings, but added that “it’s a long time” until deadline day on October 5.

“We’ve brought in Kostas, the kids are coming closer, so that’s looked really good in the pre-season,” he said of his current new options.

“I don’t know what will happen, to be honest, but it’s a long time to go until October 6, so it will be interesting to see what other teams are doing.

“But we are more or less in our situation, and we will deal with our situation like we always did.

“I think the philosophy of this club is pretty clear, we always did that.

“We will see how much we can or how much we want to spend and all these kinds of things. So there’s nothing really to say about it.”

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, July 5, 2020: Liverpool’s manager Jürgen Klopp speaks to his players during a water break during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Aston Villa FC at Anfield. The game was played behind closed doors due to the UK government’s social distancing laws during the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

The current transfer window has been headlined by Chelsea‘s heavy spending, with Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva already brought in, while Man City are eyeing a deal for Lionel Messi.

This flies in the face of the current climate, and unlike their title rivals, Liverpool cannot “live in dreamland” when it comes to pushing for their targets.

But with the new campaign due to be shorter than usual, Klopp is yet to decide whether or not he requires a bigger squad, simply saying he is “happy that we can play at all.”

“I’m happy with what we have but we constantly look for improvements, the only difference is we look for improvements internally as well,” he explained.

“How can we improve the players and how can we make them more ready for the specific occasions, that’s what we do.

“Is the biggest squad ever the solution for next season? I don’t know, we will see how it is, but there’s nothing really to say.

“It will be intense, but nobody is moaning in the moment, we’re all happy that we can play at all.”

He added: “We don’t live in dreamland in the moment where we say ‘come on, let’s bring him in, let’s bring him in, let’s bring him in’, then we realise later on we have some other problems.

“We deal with our situation, which is a good one, but we deal with our situation for a while and we try to do that for a bit longer.

“It’s still uncertain out there and we should not forget that.”