LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Wednesday, December 22, 2021: Liverpool supporters' banners on the Spion Kop before the Football League Cup Quarter-Final match between Liverpool FC and Leicester City FC at Anfield. Liverpool won 5-4 on penalties after a 3-3 draw. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Liverpool have “found enough players to build a team” after bizarre week

Liverpool assistant manager Peter Krawietz has conceded that Liverpool have needed to look far and wide throughout the club to build a squad for Shrewsbury’s FA Cup visit.

The Reds have endured a week defined by COVID-19 after a “severe outbreak” that led to the training ground being closed for 48 hours.

Positive cases amid the first-team and in the under-23s made it so a squad could not be put together in time for Arsenal, but the FA Cup tie has seen Liverpool dig deep into their talent pool.

Turning to the youth ranks has been widely discussed throughout the week and Krawietz has admitted that the Reds have needed to search for options “nearly everywhere.”

And one of the options is to include Leighton Clarkson after his loan spell at Blackburn was cut short, while Joel Matip was confirmed to have returned to training on Friday – but is touch and go for the game.

“We have one loan player back and he will probably join the squad,” Krawietz said of Liverpool’s options.

Blackburn Rovers Leighton Clarkson

“We are searching for options for this game and for the squad, nearly everywhere. But we found enough players to build a team and to have a squad.

“This will be an exciting game…Still we have the idea of being dominant on the pitch and still we have the idea to win the ball back as quickly as possible and to play proper football.”

With Krawietz having refused to confirm the number of positive cases within the team, his words say a lot as to how we can expect a squad put together thanks to various age groups.

The situation has been a “bizarre” one for the club, who were eager to fulfil their fixtures before the Covid cases simply became too much to handle at one time.

“You can believe me, this was bizarre. We came in a situation which was too difficult for all of us, we were in a situation we had to stop, we had to shut the training ground down,” Krawietz added on the last week.

“We always try to play our games, to win our games but the situation became too difficult to deal with and, of course, at the same time we try to be as quick back on normal circumstances.

“This was a busy week somehow, even if we were sitting at home. But our mobile phones were glowing a lot! This is a situation we faced and this is a situation we are searching for solutions.”