Jurgen Klopp hints at Liverpool transfer spending restrictions

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool looks on prior to the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool FC at American Express Community Stadium on January 12, 2019 in Brighton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool looks on prior to the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool FC at American Express Community Stadium on January 12, 2019 in Brighton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp does not have big money to spend in the transfer window as revealed by his latest comments on Philippe Coutinho.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he doesn’t have ‘big’ cash to spend in this transfer window through his comments on a rumored move for Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho.

The Brazilian playmaker has been linked with a return to Anfield after a disappointing 18 months in Spain and the recent addition of Antoine Griezmann to the Nou Camp.

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Speaking to Melissa Reddy at ESPN, Klopp rubbishes those reports by saying:

“I like Phil, I think he’s a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it’s not our year for that. It’s just not possible.”

This will be troubling news to some fans who have presumed the cash is there to sign big transfers after the club’s success in consecutive Champions League campaigns.

Comments by owner John W. Henry before the European Cup final win over Tottenham Hotspur stated the funds would be available to bolster the first team squad, but Klopp’s comments seem to suggest that is not the case.

The German boss makes it clear he still likes Coutinho as a person and a player, also saying in the interview that “Coutinho helps each team in the world”.

The player is not the issue. There simply isn’t the “big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big” money it would take to sign him. The estimated cost to bring Coutinho back to Anfield is between £80-100 million, depending on how much Barcelona still owe Liverpool for the original transfer.

It is hard for fans to work out why that level of money is not available with the club announcing new sponsorship deals and being hugely successful on the pitch.

I’m not specifically concerned that they aren’t signing Coutinho – he doesn’t fit with our current style of play and has a troubled history with the fans – but I would like to think that kind of cash was on hand for any player Klopp wanted go for this summer. But clearly it isn’t.