Klopp's transfer record

[Red House]

With the transfer window now open, just thought it would be an appropriate time to have a look at Klopp's transfer record during his time at Dortmund.

 

2008/2009

 

His very first move as Dortmund's new coach was an inspired one with his decision to bring in Neven Subotic, a player he coached whilst in the second division at Mainz, for £3.5 million. He also brought in Felipe Santana, who would go on to score the last-minute winning goal in that famous Malaga game. Another important move was to promote Marcel Schmelzer to the first-team. Schmelzer eventually proved to be Klopp's first-choice left-back for the rest of his tenure at Dortmund. He also brought in a few others in Owomoyela, Zidan, Hajnal and Lee-Young Pyo, none of whom costed more than £3 million. 

 

2009/2010

In his second season, Klopp's main move was to buy Mats Hummels from Bayern for £3 million. Two further inspired signings were bringing in a young Sven Bender for £1 million and Kevin Grosskreutz on a free transfer. He also spent £3 milllion on Lucas Barrios, who, whilst no Lewandowski, did go on to score 19 goals that season. Other less successful purchases were Feulner, Rangelov and Le Tallec (Anthony's brother) who were brought in for very little money.

 

2010/2011

 

His third season would prove to be Klopp's most inspired on the transfer front with a series of free transfers and one major signing. That major signing was none other than Robert Lewandowski, who was brought in from Lech Poznan, for £3.5 million. £250,000 was also spent to bring in Shinji Kagawa from a Japanese second division team, whilst the likes of Lukasz Pizsczek, Mitchell Langerak, Moritz Leitner and Antonio da Silva were signed on a free. Meanwhile, an 18 year old Mario Gotze was also to be promoted to the first team. And, Klopp ended the season with his first Bundesliga title.

 

2011/2012

 

The league success meant Dortmund's players started attracting major interest from the big clubs, with Nuri Sahin departing to Real Madrid for £7.5 million. £4 million of that income was deemed enough to find a replacement for Sahin. The man Klopp chose was Nuremberg's Ilkay Gundogan. The rest of the money was spent on Ivan Perisic. Dortmund claimed their second consecutive league title and the German Cup.

 

2012/2013

 

More players left the following season with Lucas Barrios and Ivan Perisic leaving for £6 million each. Most notably, Kagawa was sold to the mancs for £12 million (over 40 times his purchase price). To replace Kagawa, Klopp made his most expensive acquisition in the shape of Marco Reus for £12.5 million. Julian Schieber and Leandro Bittencourt were also signed that season but had much lesser impact than Reus.

2013/2014

Another departure with Gotze this time heading to Bayern for £27 million. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were brought in for a combined fee of £23 million. Other signings included Sokratis for £7.25 million and Milos Jojic for £1.6 million, while the likes of Erik Durm and Jonas Hofmann were promoted from the youth team.

2014/2015

Klopp's last season at the helm of Dortmund was arguably his worst both on the results and transfer front. This was largely due to the failure to adequately replace Lewandowski who left for Bayern, with Ciro Immobile unable to justify the £13.6 million spent on him. In addition, Adrian Ramos, Matthias Ginter and Kevin Kampl were brought in for 7, 7.5 and 9 million respectively. Sahin and Kagawa were also permanently resigned from United and Madrid.


Notwithstanding that last season, I think it's fair to say the overall picture is a tremendously impressive one. Now, I don't really know how the recruitment process worked in Dortmund and how much of a say Klopp had, but that's proper fucking moneyball for you. So, hopefully, the owners will be clever enough to allow him to do his thing. Not that I actually expect much activity this January bar a few cheap talented young players, but for once maybe these will prove to be just that: talented.

[Section_31]

I probably know far less about Klopp as a manager and his transfer record than most do, but I guarantee one thing, his eye for a player could never be as bad as it has under our last three managers.

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

 

 

[3 Stacks]

Imo, the most impressive thing about Klopp at Dortmund was his ability to find unheralded young players along with Zorc and Watzke and turn them into important pieces. In the past few years we've signed the likes of Luis Alberto, Ilori, Aspas with seemingly no plan on how to use them. With Klopp we can be sure this won't be the case as he has thrived on locating players of that ilk and making them fit into his team. Imo, that's exciting because we need to stop spending money frivolously and start finding value in the market. There are ton's of players out there who are good enough and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg and we now have a manager who excels in finding/using these players.

 

On the flip side, it will be interesting to see what Klopp will do with the capacity to buy expensive players. He's never had the opportunity to spend more than 25mill on a player and i'm curious what types of players he will identify to be worth that amount of money. 

[G Richards]

It's gonna be an interesting ride. We've wasted a lot of money in recent years. All teams will have hits and misses in the transfer market, but the worst thing about us has been that we've accumulated players with no clear idea of how to use them. 

 

I'm looking forward to a clear plan emerging. And I'm remembering what Klopp said in one of his early interviews here. We look to the price of a player too much, rather than their qualities. Maybe we'd all be excited if we were signing the likes of Gundogan for 30M. But what's to say this Grujic lad won't be an inspired signing? We're all jaded about signings like this because we've seen far too many come here and not get played, then loaned out and then lose their way. Perhaps all that is about to change and Klopp sees Grujic as a real player for the emerging team he has in mind. 

[sir roger]

I take the general point GR, but Grujic is staying at his club until summer so won't have any immediate effect.

 

I know lots on here aren't keen on Mig & Benteke, but I think a really good DM purchase would be the first I would look at.

[jimmycase]

Not sure if people are being a bit optomistic about Klopp's ability to bag us some real gems at rock bottom prices. Ive no doubt he will not make the mistakes of previous managers but, when Liverpool FC rock up, you can be sure the selling club will inflate the price more than if dortmund had of come calling.

 

Everyone in Europe knows English clubs are awash with money when it comes to transfers even if it is only the illusion of tv money.

 

The name Klopp might or should add some much needed kudos to our dealings but I still think the old problem of little or no prospects of CL football will hurt us with signings especially if spurs manage to bag 4th and qualify for the group stages.

 

The one thing we all hope for though is that we manage to stop signing absolute fucking duds for mega money.

[Biscao]

The one thing we all hope for though is that we manage to stop signing absolute fucking duds for mega money.

 

I don't care how much players cost as long as they come with ability. 

[Adebisi]

While I'm not doubting Klopp's ability to spot a player, a lot of this surely has to go down to the scouts and set-up at Dortmund?

Either way I'm excited to see who he brings to the club. I hope he has a chance this month because it'd be a nice buzz but even if he doesn't this summer will be one to look forward to and I can't remember the last time I felt that.

[TheHowieLama]

Klopp strikes me as the kind of guy who could pick up the phone and have anyone he has worked with over his career glad to hear his voice.

[Tony Moanero]

I really hope that Klopp somehow manages to sign a load of overpriced shite. The thought of us buying some decent players is horrible.

[razor]

Great stuff, Red House.

 

Here's an assessment of his bigger buys:

http://marcusbanks7.com/2015/10/21/hit-or-miss-assessing-jurgen-klopps-dortmund-recruits/

 

Hit Or Miss? Assessing Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund Recruits

October 21, 2015

 

Rumours are already beginning to circulate regarding potential transfer targets for new Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. The January transfer window is the first opportunity the German has to improve his squad. It is not clear whether Fenway Sports Group will give Klopp to the opportunity to spend big in the New Year or whether he will have to make do with the current crop of players. Big name players such as Robert Lewandowski have been linked with a re-union with Klopp however it is highly unlikely that the most in-form striker in the world at this time would swap the Allianz Arena for the grasses of Anfield.

 

Liverpool fans watched Brendan Rodgers and the club’s infamous transfer committee spend in the region of £300m on new recruits during his time at the club; only a handful could be labelled a success. Over-spending on players such as Adam Lallana and Christian Benteke, coupled with the failures of Mario Balotelli and Dejan Lovren; on top of players who were never cut out to wear a Red shirt such as Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas and Rickie Lambert did not give Liverpool the calibre of players they needed to replace the likes of Luis Suarez.

Klopp’s tenure at Dortmund was similar to his current situation at Anfield. Although Liverpool spend big during Rodgers’ tenure at the club, their spending power is no match for the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United. Klopp at Dortmund often saw his best players depart for bigger clubs with Mario Gotze and Lewandowski swapping the yellow of BVB for the red of Bavaria.

 

Klopp also had to work with a limited budget during his time in Germany but how have the 48 year old’s recruits fared?

 

Mats Hummels

One of Bayern Munich’s biggest mistakes was allowing academy prospect Mats Hummels to leave the club at the age of 19. Hummels had been with Bayern since the age of six and initially joined Dortmund on loan in 2008. Klopp signed the German defender on a permanent transfer for just £3m after impressing at the heart of defence and forming a solid partnership with Neven Subotic. Hummels developed under Klopp to become one of the most sought after defenders in the world. Hummels oozes class and became a World Cup winner with Germany last year partnering Bayern’s Jerome Boateng at the back. The 26 year old rejected the advances of Manchester United in the summer to stay at the Signal Iduna Park for yet another season and his reported market value is around £24m; offering a serious return on Klopp’s investment.

VERDICT: Hit

 

Shinji Kagawa

Shinji Kagawa signed for Dortmund from Cerezo Osaka for only £350,000 due to a release clause in his contract which allowed him to leave for Europe. He was named in the Bundesliga XI despite an injury stricken debut season at BVB after scoring eight goals in Dortmund colours. Under Klopp, Kagawa became a vital goal-scoring playmaker for Dortmund before he was bought by English giants Manchester United for around £12m. However, the Japanese international failed to make the grade in England, mainly being deployed as a winger and Klopp brought him back to Dortmund for just £5m where he remains a key player.

VERDICT: Hit

 

Marco Reus

Marco Reus spent the majority of his youth career at Borussia Dortmund before eventually signing a professional contract with Borussia Monchengladbach. Reus made an instant impact at his new club scoring his first goal for the club after a 50 metre mazy run. After a fine run of form, Klopp realised the error of his club’s ways and re-signed Reus for just £12m; representing one of his most expensive transfers during his time at Dortmund. Reus has become one of Europe’s best attacking players, netting 59 goals for BVB and flourished under Klopp helping his side win two Bundesliga titles and reach the Champions League final and is now worth almost three times the amount Dortmund paid for the German. Despite two injury hit seasons, Reus remains Dortmund’s most important player and someone who Liverpool fans can dream about following Klopp to Merseyside.

VERDICT: Hit

 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan almost became a Liverpool player before Klopp snatched him from under Liverpool’s nose and brought him to Germany for £19m; his most expensive transfer to date. Mkhitaryan was seen as an ideal replacement for the out-going Kagawa and proved to be a hit in his first season at the club. The former Shakhtar playmaker ended his first season with nine goals and ten assists which was a decent return for the club’s most expensive signing. However, Mkhitaryan particularly struggled during Klopp’s final season at the club. Injuries and poor form coupled to a bad season for the 26 year old which led to some questioning his price tag. However, under new manager Thomas Tuchel, Mkhitaryan has found his form again and has been vital in Dortmund’s excellent start to the new season hitting a hat-trick in Europa League qualifying and a brace on the first day of the German season.

VERDICT: Hit

 

Robert Lewandowski

Playing his trade for Lech Poznan, Robert Lewandowski came close to joining Blackburn Rovers and was offered to Sporting Gijon in Spain who rejected him. Klopp was the man to bring him to Dortmund for just £3m and the Polish striker hit a respectable nine goals in his first year. He would go on to become one of Europe’s most feared strikers under the guidance of Klopp. Lewandowski went on to score 94 goals in the next three seasons for Dortmund including four goals against Spanish giants Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final and a hat-trick against Bayern Munich in the German cup final. Unfortunately for Dortmund and Klopp, the club were once again unable to keep hold of one of their prized assets and the forward left for Bayern Munich on a free transfer where he has flourished and is arguably the most in-form striker in the world at the moment.

VERDICT: Hit

 

Ciro Immobile

Ciro Immobile was the man tasked with filling the enormous boots that Lewandowski left behind and the Italian just wasn’t up to the challenge. Klopp signed the striker from Torino for around £12m and the 25 year old failed to adapt to life in Germany. Immobile struggled and grew unhappy with life in Germany and did not enjoy the best of relationships with the club. Just three goals in 24 Bundesliga appearances saw Immobile heading for the exit door leaving for Sevilla and claiming he wasn’t given enough support by the club. Immobile is considered the biggest failed transfer of Klopp’s era.

VERDICT: Miss

 

Ilkay Gundogan

Klopp bought their German midfielder in the same fashion as Lewandowski and Hummels; a relatively unknown gem. Ilkay Gundogan is another who falls under the same category. When Nuri Sahin, after being Dortmund’s stand out player of the year, left for Real Madrid and Dortmund fans thought he would be irreplaceable. Klopp signed Gundogan from second division side Nuremberg for just £3m. Gundogan was a main stay in the Dortmund side and was a prominent figure during the club’s best years and the German scored from the penalty spot in the Champions League final. Klopp’s final season in Germany could have been a lot different if his German dynamo had been fit but Gundogan again struggled with injuries. The 24 year old is another name who has been linked with a Klopp re-union on Merseyside and the German was full of praise for his former mentor.

VERDICT: Hit

 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Klopp signed Aubameyang from French side Saint Ettiene after finishing second in the Ligue 1 scoring charts with 19 strikes; only behind PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic. A relatively expensive signing for Dortmund saw the Gabon international switch to Germany for £9m. He could arguably be Klopp’s biggest coup after making an instant impact, scoring 16 goals in all competitions in his first year at the club. This was followed by 26 following year and has started the new season in electric form scoring 14 goals in just 13 appearances under Tuchel. Aubameyang is yet another name to be linked with Liverpool with questions marks surrounding the future of Benteke now Klopp has been appointed. However, the 26 year old signed a new contract until 2020 at the start of the season and claimed he never wanted to leave Dortmund.

VERDICT: Hit

 

Lukasz Piszczek

Polish right-back Lukasz Piszczek was another hidden gem that was discovered by Klopp and flourished under the German’s guidance. Piszczek enjoyed three steady seasons at Hertha Berlin before Dortmund picked him up a free transfer. He quickly established himself as a key player under Klopp as part of a back four containing Marcel Schmelzer, Subotic and Hummels. An all-action defender, able to attack and defend can be one of the best in the world on his day. Piszczek was another plagued by injuries during Klopp’s final season at the club but remains one of his best signings.

VERDICT: Hit

 

Adrian Ramos

Adrian Ramos was a signing made by Klopp to bolster Dortmund’s attacking threat alongside Aubameyang following the departure of Lewandowski. Ramos left for Dortmund after making over 150 appearances for Hertha Berlin, agreeing a move in January but joining the club in the summer following a tremendous run of form. At the age of 28, there was no much room for development so Dortmund fans would have hoped the goals would flow as the signing certainly wasn’t one for future. However, Ramos failed to replicate his form under Klopp and proved to be an expensive failure. Ramos ended his first season with just three goals and has started this season in similar fashion with just the one strike thus far.

VERDICT: Miss

 

Conclusion

As with every team, not every transfer works out the way you hope it would. Both Ramos and Immobile were in top form and seemed like ideal replacements to try and fill a Lewandowski sized void. The same could be said for Rodgers who signed Lovren after a solid start to life in England with Southampton. However, with Klopp, the positives outweigh the negatives. Klopp has developed into a knack of developing young unknown talents into superstars; something which will interest FSG who have adopted a ‘Moneyball’ approach with Liverpool. This again raises the question of the infamous transfer committee. The German manager has a clear excellent track record for transfers so it is unclear how he will fit into the recruitment process at Anfield and whether he will happy to see his first choice target be overlooked if the committee does not agree. One thing is for certain, if Klopp’s previous dealings are anything to go by, future transfer windows could be exciting times for the Reds.

[Ipplfc]

Klopp strikes me as the kind of guy who could pick up the phone and have anyone he has worked with over his career glad to hear his voice.

spot on this

[Sugar Ape]

[moof]

That's quite a high turn over of players, isn't it?

[Lario]

So after both league wins, he got rid of 12 players? Fuck me.

 

Gonna be interesting to see what the committee make of things.

[liverpoolsno9]

Remember reading when he 1st came over, can't find the article, I'll have to look dig a bit deeper for it, that Klopp only actually wanted & signed 2 players whilst he was there. The rest was his DOF or whatever his role was.

[Russ Atmosphere]

Our DoF collective just got Football Manager 2016 for Christmas so we're all set. Exciting.

[J-V]

Our DoF collective just got Football Manager 2016 for Christmas so we're all set. Exciting.

 

They'd have a higher success rate if that was the case the useless cunts.

[Kevin D]

Without showing his NET spend, this is pointless.

 

NET spend.

[Josef Svejk]

Without showing his NET spend, this is pointless.

 

NET spend.

 

I'm intrigued by this idea. Please elaborate.

[Sugar Ape]

Here you go Kev. Tell us what it all means O wise one.

 

2008/2009 - net spend 1.02mil.

 

2009/2010 - net spend 3.19mil.

 

2010/2011 - net spend 665k.

 

2011/2012 - net spend earned 431k.

 

2012/2013 - net spend earned 5.15mil.

 

2013/2014 - net spend 3.66mil.

 

2014/2015 - net spend 42.28mil.

[Gym Beglin]

The key to success in the transfer market is to buy quality players who elevate established club players.

 

Case in point, Stoke.

 

Now, Arnautovic has always been a very good player in my opinion, but Hughes put guile (krkic) and pace (shaqiri) next to him and he's taken his game to another level.

 

This is why I can't write off Benteke, he'll be excellent with better movement to complement him. As it is he just gets marked out of games because the opposition defenders couldn't give a shit about getting close to Lallana, Firmino, Ibe and Coutinho.

 

If Benteke was playing alongside Mahrez and De Bruyne he's be belting in a bunch of goals and looking much more dangerous.

 

I'm honestly not worried about our strikers, Sturridge aside. I think Benteke, Ings and Origi are great options to go with a first choice striker once we jib Sturridge.

[Jairzinho]

Sturridge and Benteke are both getting fucked off next summer.

[old skool tom]

It's nowt to do with Klopp or any manager really it's all about scouting systems.I'm also worried that foreign managers don't realise it's a different game here.pace,power and attitude is sadly more important than skill in PL at the moment.

 

Klopp believed Firmino was a great signing in the summer for LFC.......fingers crossed he was just blowing smoke up his Brazilian arse otherwise we'll be in even bigger fucking trouble!

[ZonkoVille77]

Can I just point out that the expectations on Klopp are far far greater now than they ever were at Dortmund. That in itself is a huge obstacle to overcome regardless of the players he brings in.