‘Oh my god we were very lucky’ Jurgen Klopp takes a cheeky dig on Caicedo and Lavia signing
Jurgen Klopp has opened up on Liverpool’s failed moves for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, aiming a cheeky dig at the pair.
It was well documented in the summer how Liverpool needed to sign a defensive midfielder to replace Fabinho.
Caicedo seemed to be top of that list, with the Reds making a £111 million move for the Brighton midfielder. The Ecuadorian decided on a transfer to Chelsea instead, though, as did Romeo Lavia.
Since, it is fair to say neither of their moves have gone to plan, with the Londoners languishing 16th in the Premier League.
Speaking at the Anfield Road Stand test event, Klopp said: “The summer we had, we had a few strange things happen in the transfer market but here, between us, I can say ‘My god, were we lucky, eh?’”
Thankfully, the crowd could laugh and we can joke about the events now. Caicedo has flattered to deceive so far and Lavia is yet to play due to injury.
“We didn’t know that in that moment and it didn’t feel like it in that moment, but yeah, I’m really happy that it worked out, but you never know before,” added the boss.
He joked: “We obviously realised that other central defensive midfielders don’t want to join Liverpool, you see what happens, and then we found (Wataru) Endo. He’s an exceptional player.”
With 19-year-old Lavia also choosing Chelsea, despite intent from Liverpool with a £60m bid, the Reds turned to Endo from Stuttgart.
Endo is at the other end of his career to Lavia, but that didn’t stop the club signing him up on a four-year deal.
The Japanese is beginning to find form and Klopp said: “Thank god we looked about things twice and had a bit of a deeper look and it was clear we want this boy.
“He wanted to come definitely and that helps.”
For a while, Endo was only playing in the Europa League, with his sole Premier League start before Novemeber coming at St James’ Park.
However, he has started Liverpool’s last two domestic matches and last two European matches, and is beginning to gain more trust from Klopp and the fans.
As for Caicedo and Lavia, I wonder if they’ll be having any regrets?
Liverpool needs to find the best position for a talent being compared to Steven Gerrard. But it is not a simple decision for Jürgen Klopp to make at Anfield.
Jürgen Klopp has a Liverpool puzzle to work out.
Jürgen Klopp has a Liverpool puzzle to work out.
Comparing any player to Steven Gerrard, someone that many would argue is the greatest Liverpool has ever had, is a bold statement. But in a team that has won everything in the past few years, Trent Alexander-Arnold has earned that status.
The Liverpool number 66 did the best impression possible of his hero against Fulham just over a week ago with a late winner that could yet prove decisive at the end of the season. Those new boots have done nothing to quieten the comparisons, either.
Like Gerrard, though, there is currently a conversation around where Alexander-Arnold’s best position is. Fundamentally, it is a case of picking between sticking at right-back or moving into midfield, but there is a bit more nuance to it than that.
At his best in terms of attacking output, Alexander-Arnold was a 15-plus assists per season player from full-back, redefining the way that the position was played and assessed. But that is not the role he plays now, where he has become a hybrid full-back and midfielder all at once.
Since making that switch, no one in the Premier League has picked up more points than Liverpool, but it would be fair to question whether he has made the same impact as before on an individual level. Alexander-Arnold only has two assists so far this season, so there might be a way of getting more from him.
Having moved inside, the wide element of Alexander-Arnold’s game has been lost. He very rarely now pops up by the touchline to swing in an inch-perfect cross, and you would think that Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota would benefit from that trait returning.
Given the comparisons to Kevin De Bruyne too — like Gerrard, high praise, but not unwarranted — you would have to play Alexander-Arnold as the right-sided number eight (rather than as the six or as part of a double-pivot) to see that side of his game more regularly. But again, that could be problematic in a wider sense.
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Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.
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Liverpool has just spent $76m (£61m/€70m) on signing Dominik Szoboszlai to play that exact role as the right-sided number eight. If Alexander-Arnold’s best position is there, the Reds would miss out in some way.
That is the same, in truth, for any midfield berth that he could pick up. Right now, playing Alexander-Arnold in midfield essentially means a choice between picking Alexis Mac Allister and Joe Gomez, with the latter being the second choice to play right-back. As well as Gomez did against Crystal Palace, there should only be one winner in terms of who is a priority to get on the pitch.
As well as losing a midfielder to accommodate Alexander-Arnold there, the Liverpool vice-captain would also have one fewer option to play the ball to. In possession, Liverpool has effectively got an extra man with Alexander-Arnold playing full-back but that numerical advantage would be lost with him moved up a position.
All that, then, makes the next step tricky. Alexander-Arnold has openly admitted that playing in midfield would be something that would interest him, and there are reasons to want to explore it. But fitting him in there is not as simple as it sounds.
Making up the assists you would lose from when he was at his peak creatively would also be a challenge. So while the Gerrard comparisons should continue, having a Gerrard or a De Bruyne from right-back should trump trying to fit him into an already talent-packed midfield where there is no obvious vacant role.
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