Jurgen Klopp makes ‘absolutely outstanding’ admission amid Liverpool transfer policy

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for youngster Harvey Elliott as the midfielder ramps up his recovery.

Elliott hasn’t made an appearance for Liverpool since he dislocated his ankle during his side’s win at Elland Road earlier in the season.

Klopp stated that the club’s decision to remain sensible in recent transfer windows has benefited the youngsters in his side, giving them the chance to shine.

Since their Champions League win in Madrid over Spurs in 2019, Liverpool’s squad has remained largely the same, relying on their youth players to add depth, rather than dip into the market.

This summer they only signed one player in Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig for a reported fee of £35 million, and found it hard to cement his place in the starting XI.

Whilst their rivals spent big, like Arsenal freshening up their squad for around £150 million, Chelsea breaking their transfer record to re-sign Romelu Lukaku and Manchester City making Jack Grealish the first ever British player to be transferred for £100 million, Liverpool spent rather modestly.

In recent years, we have seen academy graduate Trent Alexander-Arnold be a vital part of Liverpool’s success. Curtis Jones has also enjoyed spells in and out of the side.

But this season Elliott was a huge sensation, putting in top class performances week in week out, and Klopp has defended the clubs transfer policy, stating that the lack of spending is helping the youngsters break through.

As well as Elliott, Tyler Morton has also made his debut for the squad, and has looked like he belongs in the team.

Klopp said: “I think because the team stayed together for a long time now, we maybe lost Gini last year but the majority of the team stayed together and it helps us develop things.

“That’s why when you have a core group that play together for a while, then you can put in younger players as well. Like we did at the beginning of the season with Harvey, who was absolutely outstanding and massively impressive in that period.

“When you bring in Curtis, the way he performs is because we are stable and because of his talent. And now Tyler is coming in and that’s possible because of how the rest around him works.”

Despite the youngsters doing well, is the demand for new blood simply greater than the supply?

Liverpool slipped to their second defeat of the season to Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night, and resorted to bringing on veteran James Milner as they chased the game.

And with the Africa Cup of Nations just around the corner, where Liverpool will lose Naby Keita, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, they may have to bite the bullet and splash the cash in January to not fall too far behind in the title race. The Reds now trail City by six points, which could turn into nine by the start of 2022.