Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp drops firm January transfer hint – ‘Couldn’t care less’

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Jurgen Klopp has suggested that Liverpool could be in for a quiet month when the January transfer window rolls around, insisting that he ‘couldn’t care less’ about the business other clubs will be doing. The Reds only managed to sign one player during the summer window, with Ibrahima Konate joining on a five-year deal from RB Leipzig.

Liverpool met the Frenchman’s release clause of £36million in order to bring him to Anfield but did not follow up with any further additions.

They were linked with a number of top-class players, including Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans and Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.

However, the six-time European champions were reluctant to match the lavish spending habits of their Premier League title rivals.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United splashed a combined total of more than £300m in the summer market, with Liverpool’s cautious approach to the window drawing criticism from the club’s support base.

City boss Pep Guardiola and his United counterpart Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently hit back at Klopp after the Reds boss publicly highlighted the staggering amount of money changing hands at football’s elite level.

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However, the 54-year-old has since doubled down on his claims while suggesting that he will not be forced into spending unnecessarily to join the ‘circus’ in January or next summer.

“Clubs do business,” Klopp told reporters ahead of Sunday’s clash with Leeds United at Elland Road.

“My problem is obviously my English. From time to time, I obviously annoy some other managers.

“I don’t want to do that, why should I, but I say something and I think it’s right – and it is probably right in my mind – and a few days later I hear the response from someone else [and think] why is he on his toes?

“Honestly, I couldn’t care less what other clubs are doing. Honest. I have been six years here almost.

“I signed up for this way when I arrived here. In that time, we were quite successful. Not the most successful in the world, but quite successful.

“We won a couple of trophies exactly with that way. It’s always the same that we get asked why we do it that way.

“We thought it makes sense that we sign up our squad [on long-term contracts] in the moment that we have here. And we did that.

“That is not as spectacular as all the rest around, and I cannot change that. We cannot do transfer business just to be in the circus.

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“But they did it. I expect other teams to sign players, fine, then we will play them and see what we can do.”

It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will decide to add to their ranks in January or avoid disrupting the squad ahead of the Premier League run-in.

The Reds were busy during this year’s mid-season transfer window as they scrambled to bring in a new defender to provide injury cover at the back.

They ended up sealing deadline-day moves for Ben Davies, who joined on a permanent deal from Preston North End, and Ozan Kabak on a half-season loan from Schalke.

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