Jurgen Klopp has warned two of his major targets in the transfer market that Liverpool will look elsewhere if there is no progress in the deals, according to reports.
Last month, Klopp completed the signing of Mohamed Salah from Roma in a deal believed to be worth £34 million (about $45 million), but Liverpool has had frustrations with other targets.
Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk looked set for Anfield but Liverpool issued an apology to the south coast club and announced it had ended its interest in the Dutch center-back.
But the Daily Mail say Klopp is still keen on Van Dijk, as well as RB Leipzig’s impressive midfielder Naby Keita. Liverpool has had a £57 million offer for Keita rejected, with Leipzig reportedly saying he is not for sale at any price.
While on pre-season, Klopp has spoken of Liverpool’s frustrations in the market. “We pretty much have all what you need,’ he said, as quoted by the Daily Mail. “But at the end it is still business, whether you have the money. You go out and see the car that you have been dreaming about your whole life. You say ‘here is the money’ but they say to you ‘I don’t want to sell the car.’ You say, ‘but I have got the money!’ but they say ‘I don’t want to sell.’
“Things like this happen in life, not only football. It is not about this. They say, ‘go for another car in another color’ but you say, ‘that’s ok but I want this.’ It is pretty simple. You can imagine how it works. It is not that we are doing something that other clubs aren’t doing. Or we are more silly or they are more smart.”
Klopp prefers to have his squad together, signings completed by the time pre-season begins. Last summer, Liverpool didn’t make any other deals after July 22, but Klopp realizes this is not possible this year.
Liverpool is already two matches into its tour, having beaten Tranmere Rovers and drawn with Wigan Athletic. The team now heads to Hong Kong where it will face Crystal Palace and either West Brom or Leicester City, before then traveling on to Germany.
