The Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, has denied being too loyal to underperforming players and has announced that changes will be made to the team during the upcoming summer. The team is currently 10 points behind in the race for Champions League qualification following back-to-back losses in the Premier League.
Klopp acknowledged that the team, which had come close to winning a quadruple last season, is currently underperforming and has been unable to surprise opponents. He stated that the issues are not due to players no longer listening to their manager or his belief in players who have reached the end of their prime.
“I am loyal, I think everyone should be loyal, but I am not too loyal,” said Klopp. “The problem is too complex. You have a good player who did a lot of good stuff in the past, and then maybe, in your mind, you think: ‘That’s it for him now.’ If you can then go out and bring in another player to replace him, then it makes sense from both sides to say: ‘Come on, it was a great time; see you later.’ If you cannot bring anybody in then you cannot take anyone out; that’s the situation.”
Klopp also confirmed that changes would be made to the team in the summer, with players such as Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, and Roberto Firmino set to become free agents. Liverpool is also expected to attempt to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.
“As far as I know, from what I hear, I will not go,” said Klopp. “So maybe there’s a point where we have to change other stuff. And we will see that. But it’s something for the future, like in the summer, but not now.”
Klopp emphasized that the team’s focus needs to be on improving their performance in the present and not thinking about the future. “We cannot play and say: ‘These are problems, but next season we don’t have them anymore.’ That is long away. Until then, we stick together, and we fight. If we lose, we lose, but in a way that we can accept and not: ‘How could that happen?'”