Jurgen Klopp provides Liverpool transfer update amid midfielder chase

The Reds have been slammed for not adding a midfielder

Updated: July 05, 2023 at 1:51 am GMT+1

Jurgen Klopp has admitted that it is getting more and more unlikely that Liverpool will add a midfielder to their ranks before the transfer deadline ahead of his side’s clash with Newcastle United at Anfield on Wednesday.

The Reds were happy with their options for much of the window, with James Milner signing a one year contract extension, and it seemed as though they were willing to wait until next summer, when it is widely expected Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham will begin a transfer frenzy over his signature.

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However, Klopp U-turned on this decision with ten days left to go in the window, after a lethargic Liverpool were beaten 2-1 at Old Trafford.

“I’m the one who said we don’t need a midfielder, and now we need a midfielder. You were all right and I was wrong”, he told the media. “That is the situation. But that specific point doesn’t change it. If we do something, then it has to be the right one.”

“Some players are just unavailable, that’s how it is, but if we can do something, and if we will do something, then we are 100 per cent convinced about it. If we are not convinced, then we will not do it. That’s the situation.

“If it’s the right player, we need him. If it’s not the right player, we don’t need him.”

Klopp not expecting another addition

Speaking ahead of his clash with the Magpies, however, Klopp was more downbeat on his chances of adding another name to his squad before Thursday’s deadline.

Asked if they were still in the market, he said: “Ish. But the closer we get to the last minute, the more unlikely it gets. That’s how it is. We are not ‘out’. I couldn’t [tell you a name] even if I wanted. It’s difficult. We will see. There’s time.”

One name that has been ruled out is RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer, who is now expected to stay in Germany this season and leave as a free agent next summer.