Liverpool August squad rankings: Sturridge falls, Mane rises
By Tom Bogert
10. Ragnar Klavan (no ranking last month)
Klavan is not Kolo Toure 2.0, that’s for sure. Nor is he the defensive reincarnation of The Rickie Lambert Experience of 2014/15. He’s not here necessarily to just make up the numbers, he proved he can play a little, too.
With Matip unavailable in the first two matches of the season, Klopp confidently turned to Klavan. He’s done so well that Klopp is confident treating Mamadou Sakho as if he’s a disgruntled youth teamer asking for too much, saying he should leave on loan to play. There have been rumors that’ve gone as far as to say that Klopp told Sakho he wouldn’t play a game this season if he stayed. Without Klavan, that reported threat isn’t possible.
The Estonian wasn’t unveiled in the same light as Matip and he’s still not someone who’ll expect to be ever-present in the Premier League season, but he’ll be more than Toure. He’s not only going to play in crisis and he won’t just be happy that he’s here, like Lambert admitted he was.
The no nonsense defender fared better at Arsenal than he did against Burnley, though, as he had a hand in the first goal. He did Nathaniel Clyne no favors with the initial ball into him though it was Clyne’s mistake that directly led to the goal.
Next: 9. James Milner