England boss Gareth Southgate will ignore Jurgen Klopp if Liverpool manager makes request

Klopp reflects as Liverpool miss out on title

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England manager Gareth Southgate is set to bat away any requests from Premier League managers to grant players an extra break ahead of the Three Lions’ upcoming Nations League fixtures. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has had run-ins with Southgate in the past, and the Reds are the last Premier League side to wrap up their season with a crunch Real Madrid clash pencilled in for May 28.

English stars from around Europe now have a brief opportunity to kick their feet up after another demanding season. Liverpool cannot yet take their foot off the gas, however, with the small matter of a Champions League final to take care of in Paris. 

Klopp and co are still reeling from a dramatic sequence of events on Sunday, that ultimately saw Manchester City lift the Premier League trophy at their expense. And while the German’s tireless players have one more outing, Mirror Sport claim that Southgate will not take a particularly sympathetic approach. 

Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold will not be asked to play England’s first match a matter of days after the Champions League final, but they will be expected to turn out for the subsequent two clashes. 

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Klopp has nurtured a reputation for protecting his players and putting Liverpool first, and he has not always seen eye to eye with his England counterpart. Last year, the German took a swipe at Southgate for his decision not to call up Joe Gomez, and he got a direct response. 

“I don’t quite know why he keeps having a swing, you’d have to ask him,” said the Three Lions manager. “I think we’ve always got on reasonably well. I’ve noticed quite a few articles and quite a few comments, which is always interesting to see.”

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Between June 4 and June 14, England will face Hungary in Budapest and Germany in Munich before returning to familiar territory with two matches at Molineux against Italy and then Hungary again. Southgate is set to place high importance on the quickfire series of games, given that it will affect England’s seeding for Euro 2024 qualification. 

Furthermore, it will be the Three Lions’ penultimate camp before the World Cup gets underway later this year. Having fallen at the final hurdle at Euro 2020, Southgate is understandably keen to see his big hitters in action despite the tired legs that may be reporting for duty. 

As the dust settles on final-day Premier League drama, attention turns to who will get a call-up when the squad is named on Tuesday afternoon. 

West Ham star Jarrod Bowen was told that he would have made the most recent squad if injury had not intervened, so he could finally get the nod this time around. The 25-year-old forward finished the Premier League season with 22 goal contributions, and has the versatility to play across the front-line. 

Low energy levels and late-season knocks could open the door for others previously on the brink, including AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori who is fresh from a Serie A title triumph. It remains to be seen if Manchester United stars Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford are called up amid underwhelming runs of form. 

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