‘Please tell me why?’: Klopp got it badly wrong in summer interview and Liverpool are paying the price

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Jurgen Klopp’s summer comments on Liverpool needing a midfielder look awful in hindsight. The boss got this one wrong.

Jurgen Klopp gave an interview with the Anfield Wrap back in July. He openly talked about calls for Liverpool to buy a midfielder – something he disagreed with.

“My favourite subject to talk about is bringing in a new midfielder,” says Klopp. “[People say] ‘We need a new midfielder’. Please tell me why? Please tell me why.

“We can talk about Jude Bellingham and how good he is. Yes, a fantastic player – a fantastic player, I have no doubt about that. But you tell me now which kind of midfielder we lack, for example.

“So it’s like that, you mix it through and that’s how you change a team. You don’t close doors for the young ones – they need opportunities.”

In hindsight, it’s difficult to avoid thinking he got it badly wrong.

Jurgen Klopp’s midfielder plans

Now, Klopp eventually went back on those words himself. The Reds signed Arthur right at the end of the transfer window on loan from Juventus. It was an admission that Liverpool did need more depth in midfield.

That came after injuries to several players. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Thiago and Jordan Henderson have all had spells out. Arthur, then, was needed.

But more than that, he was needed because there was a kind of midfielder that Liverpool lacked. They had no cover for Thiago, a ball-playing midfielder who dictates the tempo and controls teams with the ball. When he’s out, the Reds just aren’t the same.

Of course, Arthur has been a disaster. He couldn’t play right away and once he got fit, he picked up an injury that ruled him out until at least January.

Liverpool were left with scraps once they searched for a midfielder, essentially. They gambled on Arthur and it didn’t pay off, now it looks awful with Thiago out again.

But more than that, Keita is still out. Oxlade-Chamberlain made his first appearance of the season at the weekend as a substitute. Injuries continue to trouble Liverpool in midfield and unfortunately, it’s not a surprise. All of the injured players have questionable fitness records – the Reds should have seen it coming.

Bizarrely, they did. All signs suggest they tried to get Aurélien Tchouaméni but couldn’t beat Real Madrid in the race. So the club did see the need for a midfielder. When they failed to get him, though, they simply decided not to sign anyone.

That, above all, is costing Liverpool right now. They needed something in the middle and that seems clear. Klopp’s comments suggesting they didn’t now don’t look good at all.