Jurgen Klopp ‘breaks’ silence on Liverpool future as Jamie Carragher ‘criticises’ Cody Gakpo signing

Liverpool face a huge clash with Everton this evening as they look to return to winning ways after a terrible start to 2023. The Reds are yet to win a Premier League match this year.

Meanwhile, the Toffees will be feeling confident of victory in the Merseyside derby after they enjoyed a shock win over Arsenal last time out. Tonight’s match will be Sean Dyche’s first away trip since taking charge of the club - albeit less than a mile from Goodison Park.

Ahead of the derby, we take a look at today’s headlines from Liverpool...

Jurgen Klopp on his future

Jurgen Klopp has opened up on his future at Liverpool after a turbulant first half of the season for the club. The German only signed a new contract in the summer but there have already been calls for him to leave his role.

The Reds currently sit 10th in the Premier League table and have only won one match in seven in all competitions, with their last league victory coming against Leicester City in December. Klopp’s side look increasingly unlikely to earn European football for next season as they remain six points off sixth place.

Despite question marks over the Liverpool boss’ future at Anfield, he has continued to express his commitment to the club. Speaking ahead of tonight’s clash with Everton, Klopp said: “I will not and I cannot go. I’m responsible. (I have) too much responsibility. And I want it. I want to sort it.

“I said, ‘So, this is a difficult time,’ but it is a bit like, I don’t enjoy it, but if you could show in this difficult time that even then, especially then, that this club is so special, because we believe in everything… If people believe in me, yeah, then we have to go through this together because when we come out we will have great times again. Maybe the difficult times are now a bit too long already — for me as well, I knew this was a difficult season.

“I’m here, I’m 100 per cent committed. If we win, I feel like I was part of it. If we lose, I feel 100 per cent responsible. It was always in my life like this. And we will do absolutely everything to get through this and prepare for a very positive future again.”

It has been over seven years since Klopp was appointed as Liverpool manager and he has since guided the team to their first Premier League title, as well as the Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Community Shield, Super Cup and Club World Cup. The former Borussia Dortmund coach was named the Premier League Manager of the Season on two occasions and has won nine Manager of the Month awards.

Carragher on Cody

Jamie Carragher has revealed he was left baffled by the arrival of Cody Gakpo during the January transfer window. Despite being heavily linked with Manchester United, the Dutchman made a surprise move to Anfield in a potential £45 million deal from PSV.

There was a lot of excitement around Gakpo’s move to the Premier League, however he has so far failed to impress and is yet to pick up a single goal contribution in his first six appearances. The 23-year-old joins some hugely talented attackers on Merseyside with the likes of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino all awaiting their returns from injury - however Jamie Carragher has claimed it will be Gakpo that finds himself on the bench when they make their comebacks.

Writing in his column for The Telegraph, the former Liverpool defender said: ‘In attack, Diaz started his Liverpool career brilliantly but Nunez is a work in progress, and I am baffled watching Gakpo’s early performances. “Why commit up to £45 million on someone who will be on the bench when Diaz and Diogo Jota are fit? Especially when another area of the team needed strengthening?”

Gakpo has started in all six matches since getting his work permit granted at the start of January and has managed only one shot on target in his three games in the English top flight. Jota is set to return to the bench for Liverpool tonight and Gakpo will have to impress against Everton if he is to continue in the starting line-up.

Diogo Jota makes his return

Diogo Jota looks very likely to make his highly anticipated return to the Liverpool matchday squad this evening. The forward has been sidelined since suffering a serious calf injury in October, however he was back in training last week and could feature against Everton.

Jota is one of a number of players that have spent recent months in the treatment room, with the likes of Firmino, Arthur Melo and Virgil van Dijk all absent. Speaking ahead of the derby, Klopp said: “The players are back in training but in different stages. Diogo is the closest he trains now normally for two days and we have three more days of training for him and he’s in contention for the squad I think. Bobby [Firmino], the next one, I don’t know. We have to see how that looks with training intensity and make a decision there. [Virgil van Dijk], I don’t think he’s that close yet. Arthur [Melo] is similar to Bobby I would say.”

Given Jota hasn’t played in the top flight for around four months, he is likely to be handed a place on the bench if he is fully fit. Meanwhile, Liverpool could continue with Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah as their front three.