31 March 2023 , 21:30
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Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Liverpool will splash the cash in the summer, as he conducts an ‘inevitable’ rebuild.
And the Reds boss didn’t flinch when asked whether his club would be prepared to spend £100m+ on one player, as he nimbly declined to rule out such lavish spending.
In the past, Klopp has repeatedly suggested Liverpool would not enter the transfer arms race by spending so much on a single star, but in response to the question - with Jude Bellingham valued above that figure - he replied: “The club will spend in the summer, definitely - for who, how many, those kind of things, there is nothing to say (at present).”
In the past, when Manchester City spent £100m on Jack Grealish, Klopp suggested his own club could never match such lavish spending, and said “we have to do it our own way”.
Yet now he recognises the need to rebuild his team is pressing, and indicated that there will be significant business in the summer, by suggesting talks with some of his top targets have been “positive”.
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Asked how negotiations went during the international break, he replied: “It was good. On the player side, it was positive, I would say. But it's talks, not decisions…we are busy, you can imagine.”
Klopp, though, is very clear on the need for a rebuild, after admitting his team needs surgery after spending seven years together at the top of the game.
Jude Bellingham is right at the top of Liverpool's transfer list (Getty Images)“I am long enough in the business to know how these things develop. It’s clear after a specific amount of time that you need to shuffle things and kind of start anew.
“That is completely normal, it happens all the time, it’s just rare nowadays that it happens with the same manager because people realise when you sack a manager and bring in a new manager, things change and you readjust the squad. After seven years it was clear that we have to do it.”
Liverpool are still without Luis Diaz, with the manager suggesting he will be back next week, but Darwin Nunez has recovered from a serious cut which ruled him out of international duty.