Jurgen Klopp talks about his unwanted £108m pair

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has talked about his £108 million pair of unwanted players as the club prepares to take on Manchester United.

The Boot Room ran quotes from the interview Klopp did with Arsene Wenger for beIn SPORTs, in which he discussed how the Reds swooped in undetected for a duo that has gone on to be worth in excess of £100 million – according to Transfermarkt.

Andy Robertson was signed for just £10 million from a relegated Hull City, while Joel Matip arrived from Schalke for nothing. No other side wanted the pair – Robertson because there were question marks over his ability as a defender – while there was no other interest in Matip.

The decision to sign the defenders shows how good the recruitment at Liverpool is. Where nobody saw value, the Reds knew they had something that could be moulded and the deals have worked brilliantly. Robbo is now worth £76m, while Matip comes in at £32m.

"“Robertson was sensational attacking but nobody wanted him because his defending was not good,” said Klopp. Matip on a free transfer, nobody wanted him really.”"

Liverpool realised that you can teach someone to defend, but Andy Robertson had the raw qualities Jurgen Klopp needed from his left-back. It’s a bit of a mystery why Joel Matip was an uncontested deal – but the Reds had to move fast.

There aren’t a lot of deals that haven’t worked at Anfield. The one closest to being labelled a failure is probably Xherdan Shaqiri, but if he leaves for more than he was signed for there won’t be many complaints.

Naby Keita, too, hasn’t fully justified his fee but there have been mitigating circumstances and Klopp is a patient coach. We will see the best of Keita at Liverpool.

There is no doubt that this club will continue to look for the best value in the transfer market. They have already been linked with three Norwich City players and you can bet they’ll be sniffing around the relegated sides to pinch their best values at good value for money.