Jurgen Klopp Left Surprised By Player’s Transfer Request As Chelsea Consider Joining The Race For Southampton Midfielder
Written By Onyeka Daniel
It’s been an almost total overhauling of the midfield for English Premier League side, Liverpool ahead of the 2023/24 season with the likes of Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain released while Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were brought in.
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But in an expected development, the Reds were also forced to sell two other midfielders, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, with the duo joining the mass exodus of players to the Saudi Arabian League with their offer of huge salary.
While the club may have wanted the exit of thrir Brazilian midfielder, they never expected their captain to also walk through the exit door and coach of the team made this known in a recent interview. Jurgen Klopp revealed that he was left taken aback when Henderson requested to leave the club.
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The 33-year-old was reunited with ex-Reds teammate Steven Gerrard earlier in the week after linking up with Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq. It is believed that the Englishman will pocket £700k a week salary in the Middle East to make him one of the top earners in world football – and the highest paid English footballer in history.
His decision to depart Anfield after 12 years has led to some fans and pundits to accuse him of hypocrisy in moving to a country where homosexuality is illegal, despite him being a firm ally of the LGBTQ+ community. And now Klopp has stated he wasn’t expecting his former captain to leave, as he confirmed the club were keen to keep hold of the midfielder.
In his first interview with the media following Henderson‘s exit, Klopp was asked about the move in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s friendly against Leicester. To which he said: “Was I surprised when Henderson said he wanted to move on? Of course.
“We had a relationship for eight years. He knew the situation that we wanted to keep him. “But if he wanted to leave we weren’t going to throw rocks and stones in the way. It was about reacting to it.”
He added: “Jordan will miss us and we will miss him. We have to go on and we will. That is clear.” Dutch defender, Virgil van Dijk, who is in line to replace Henderson as the club’s captain, has stated his teammates will have to step up in the player’s absence.
Hailing his former teammate, the defender said: “He’s obviously going to be a big miss for us as a player. “But definitely as a leader and a captain. [He’s been] so important for us during our success over [the] last few years. “We are going to miss him a lot. Others have to step up now, that’s the reality.” He further added.
His exit would mean that Klopp can ill afford to lose Thiago Alcantara too, as he aims to retain some sort of experience in his squad while the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich player is pushing for a move away from the club unless he’s guaranteed of decent playing time by the manager.
Meanwhile…
The Reds will now look to sign Southampton midfielder, Romeo Lavia as replacement, but they may have to contend with rival club, Chelsea for the former Manchester City midfielder.
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Even before they sold Henderson and Fabinho, Liverpool had been looking to sign the 19yrs old, and now armed with more funds, they’re ready to make their move. The Saints continue to demand for €50m minimum to let the player leave, but Liverpool are only prepared to offer about €35m.
Chelsea, having seen three of their bids rejected for Moises Caicedo, with the last bid said to be around €90m plus bonus, they’re said to be looking at alternatives and Lavia could come into the picture, unless they’re ready to pay over €100m for the Ecuadorian or the Seagulls lower their demands.
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