TLW

Jurgen Klopp says he can identify one major area of regression this season and is already making plans to rectify it. With Liverpool facing a uphill challenge to claim a top four spot for next season, Klopp is using the rest of this campaign trialing a few different methods and making sure they hit the ground running for the new campaign. Speaking ahead of the clash with Nottingham Forest this afternoon (per the Mirror), Klopp said the difficult lessons learnt will be beneficial in the long term. “So what we learned this season is a lot - how it doesn't work out! We learned a lot which we didn’t want to learn. “But after this season there is another season. That’s already in my mind as well, we have to build on what we do now and what we learn now. And now we have the opportunity to learn a few things we really can use. That’s how I see it. That means everything is fine.” Arguably the bedrock of Klopp’s Liverpool team over the years has been the ability to make the opposition panic in possession under intense pressure all over the pitch. When in full operation it is a thing of beauty to observe every player from front to back on the same page and making Liverpool one of the most difficult teams to play, not just with the ball but without it too. Liverpool have shown flashes of brilliance in thumping wins throughout the season which have been somewhat random in nature as they have not been sustained to the next game. A case in point being the rout of Man United followed by a desperately dismal showing at Bournemouth. When everything is ticking smoothly, the press returns and so does the belief. But when it is missing, it is extremely noticeable and Klopp admits it is a work in progress to get it back on a constant basis. “So (we went) from (being) a counter-pressing monster to pretty much a non-existent counter-pressing side. I thought (that) was a long way away to be honest but it was pretty quick, to be honest, it was bam, bam, bam…and it was pretty much done. “Getting back to that to make it pretty natural is not that easy. If counter-pressing would just work by telling the boys ‘don't forget to counter-press', then it would be really easy, but it doesn't work like that. "Obviously when it's gone, it is for different reasons. Frontline defending was not great, midfield was not there. Now when we haven't defended that well up front anymore, all of a sudden the last line was too high but we realise that too late. "And if the last line was too high, you tell them to defend deeper and these kinds of things. That is how it has developed. So now we know how it doesn't work, which is good. It is important information. Finally we know.” Bedding in new signings can be problematic at the best of times, let alone when form has deserted the team. Throughout his managerial tenure with the Reds, Klopp has been at pains to lower the expectations for players in their first season especially those who are still learning their craft such as Darwin Nunez. Those looking for a cheap or simplistic headline instantly compared the striker to Man City’s marquee signing in Erling Haaland which was unfair on many levels. Klopp said that the Uruguayan has learnt some important lessons but is still not the complete package. “Darwin is a player with a different skillset to all our other players. That’s good. He’s a real handful, he’s a machine and he’s scored already a decent number of goals, so that’s all fine. But yes, of course, he’s still adapting. “It’s not helpful to go through a difficult debut season for the whole team, which makes it [difficult] then for a striker... how can a striker shine when the whole team is struggling? “That’s not helpful but it’s no problem at all. This is a long-term project. I understand the team wants to play desperately from the beginning. That’s all fine but we have to find a way that works really for us again. I’m completely fine with the situation.” Cody Gakpo arguably had a more difficult start to life at Liverpool coming in when the team was unquestionably playing the worst brand of football in the Klopp era, completely bereft of confidence at both ends of the pitch. Klopp explains that Gakpo has an incredible sense of match awareness and is learning the art of counter-press from a teammate that will be soon departing. “I think Bobby in this role is an inspiration for pretty much every player in a similar position. “But Cody is a super smart kid. A real team player and on top of that a really good player, and he can create his own way in this position. Since he's been here, has done exceptionally well - from the first day he has been a real joy to work with."

Robbie Fowler said that Jude Bellingham would not have been the transformative figure that many Liverpool fans had wished for saying the midfield woes run a lot deeper than the addition of one individual. After a year of much speculation, the news came through last week that Liverpool had pulled out of any bidding war for the Borussia Dortmund star in the summer and looking at alternatives. In a season of abject performances on the pitch , this news was a true hammer blow and now many are thinking what direction the club is indeed heading. Jurgen Klopp continues to paint a picture of positivity about the season ahead recently saying: “We will bring in the right players, who want to fight for the badge, who want to fight with us, want to develop with us, then everything is fine. Fresh legs, fresh minds, we will be ready to fight again.” In Fowler’s opinion, this summer is pivotal for that to happen and the right players have to be signed and be able to hit the ground running as he wrote in the Mirror “The fact is, they have a glaring weakness in their team, and that can’t be fixed by signing Jude Bellingham on his own. “ I have a question for you. What is Liverpool’s first choice midfield? Even after a shocking season, it’s probably Henderson-Thiago-Fabinho. Second question: how many goals have they scored between them? The answer is a big fat zero. Yep, you read that right. No goals from a midfield trio that so very nearly wrote history. In any competition. So far, they have made a combined 99 appearances so far, and not a single goal. “It gets worse. In all those appearances, they have three assists between them, two for Henderson and one from Thiago. And that is where the disaster of this season stems from. “You look at the Premier League table, and for all the criticism of Liverpool’s defence, they still have the fifth best record, better than Manchester United and Tottenham, and not much different to City and Arsenal. “Yet goals are a massive problem - despite Mo Salah having another inconsistent season. Nunez has done okayish, they’ve been without Diaz and Jota for long periods, and Gakpo, well, not great but he’s new. “So there’s no way Bellingham alone will transform that. I think they need five or six new signings, but that’s not going to happen…so Klopp will have to settle for three or four. And three of those need to be established, ready to go, top class midfielders”. Fowler also said the talk about FSG splashing the cash on one player was extremely fanciful when you look at their prior history. “Remember Liverpool under FSG have never spent more than £150m in a single summer over more than a decade - on one player? Not a chance. “Even if they spend more than ever before this summer, if they signed Bellingham it would leave them with about £30m to buy three more players. You aint doing that in the Premier League and getting away with it. “So spread it around. I’m not being disrespectful when I say Mason Mount isn’t worth more than £20-30m. Not because he’s a poor player, but because he only has a year left on his contract. No way should any club pay more than that.” The club legend also said the onus is on the manager to change it up tactically believing that there should be more playmakers in the squad in setting up goalscoring opportunities than the incredibly successful duo of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson. “I think Klopp needs to evolve his team a bit now. When we’re talking of assists, Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have 13 between them in all competitions all season, when usually it’s more than three times that. “So have sides worked them out? If so, then they need to work a way around that, and the answer is to provide far more creativity from midfield as City do - goals and assists. “Mount will provide that, (Alexis) Mac Allister too. Spend the money on those two, and you still have change to buy a holding midfielder. It’s just financial reality, and I think maybe Liverpool have finally got real.”

The threat of Financial Fair Play sanctions hanging over Chelsea could see the West London club having to shed a trio of academy graduates off their books with Liverpool lining up to sign them. The Mirror reports that a "fire sale" may be required in the summer at Stamford Bridge for them to comply with FFP regulations after their seemingly endless spending spree under their new owner Todd Boehly. While Chelsea believe that they have everything in check when it comes to their finances, if they fail to qualify for Europe next season then their situation could worsen significantly with UEFA reportedly keeping a close eye on proceedings. Mason Mount is a player that has been widely reported to be a player of significant interest to Jurgen Klopp and the fact that his contract is running down works in the Reds favour. The other two Blues players that have reportedly caught the eye of Liverpool are Conor Gallagher and Levi Colwill who is a central defender currently on loan at Brighton. Signing the trio will also boost the home-grown qualified contingent at Liverpool which is set to take a hit in the summer with the likely departure of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Nat Phillips, Caoimhin Kelleher and James Milner. As with any coveted player that comes onto the market there will be competition with Man United said to be closely looking at signing Mount while Brighton and Man City have interest in Colwill and Newcastle are closely monitoring Gallagher. This news comes on the back this week where Liverpool officially ended any hopes of Jude Bellingham in the summer. In a dismal season where fans have been looking to cling onto any kind of hope that the Borussia Dortmund and England star would make his way to the club in the summer but that was unceremoniously dashed. Speaking ahead of their Monday night clash with Leeds, the manager produced a impassioned defence of their recruitment strategy which has come under the spotlight in recent times and said that being fixated on one player could see them miss out on other targets. “What you want to know is as I sit here, am I angry that we can’t do this or that. No I am not. I am not, I don’t agree all the time with everything we do…but I am employed here. “I am not here to be angry about things that will work out or not. If I am angry we don’t all of a sudden have more money, or the resources to do everything. So it’s rubbish (to get angry), it’s not ok - I’m too much of a professional. (Referring to the Bellingham situation ) “ We have to make sure, we have to make decisions for the team, for the club and we cannot dream, we cannot be angry if we don’t get this or we don’t get that. If there’s no chance for it, why should we do that?” “The budget is important and then timing is important, knowing when things can happen is important. Guarantees are important, if we go for it, whether will we get it is important. If you put too much focus on something you only might get, all the rest of the market could be gone. "(Talking about possible targets) is a heated thing, but now we see, there are 12 midfielders we could sign. There are a lot of good players out there, honestly, yeah a lot of good players - and we are interested in all good players, and some of them will end up here.” Across the football landscape, managers have been known to walk away from clubs when unable to land their prime targets, but do not expect Klopp to do anything of the sort saying “This is my club.” And he insists he can get Liverpool back on track in the seasons ahead. "For us playing football to be successful, yes it must be possible, of course it is possible to rebuild in three years. Of course it is better to play much better football than we did this year, it must be possible.”

Fabio Carvalho could be set for a season away on loan with the club open to the idea according to a new report. The Portugal U/21 international was one of the key figures in Fulham's automatic promotion to the Premier League and a number of top sides were chasing his signature for a very small fee in today’s football landscape. Liverpool had done a lot of ground work and after just missing the opportunity bring him to the club in the winter window he arrived last summer and early on had a positive impact, famously scoring the dramatic winner against Newcastle and also scoring in the 9-0 rout against Bournemouth. But after making 16 appearances prior to the World Cup, Carvalho has only made four since. He scored in one of those fixtures against Man City in the Carabao Cup but was substituted at half time. His only other start came against in the third round FA Cup replay against Wolves in mid January while he has been a late sub in the other two games. There has been speculation to why he has basically dropped completely out of the rotation, with one school of thought being that he is brushed off the ball too easily and needs to add some physicality to his overall game. It is not the first time that a newcomer to the squad in the Klopp era has got the ‘tough love’ treatment and certainly won’t be the last. In the main it has done those players the world of good with Andy Robertson being one major success story. Now Football Insider report that Carvalho could follow the same path as fellow Fulham academy graduate in Harvey Elliott and hone his trade at another club where he will get consistent minutes and valuable experience. The report does not state which clubs may be interested in taking on Carvalho for next campaign. The Reds have a good relationship with Blackburn where Elliott thrived and currently Tyler Morton is there for the season. Rovers are currently looking to secure a spot in the Championship playoffs but while that league is a great breeding ground for talent, it would be more beneficial to have Carvalho play in the Premier League where the Liverpool coaches can keep a close eye on his progress. Newly promoted Burnley could be a good landing spot for Carvalho, a club totally transformed from the dour and attritional football of the Sean Dyche era to a very progressive style under former Man City captain Vincent Kompany. Carvalho who is signed to the club until 2027 is someone with technical ability and could thrive in that environment before returning to the club as a more-rounded player. Certainly one more storyline to watch with interest in the upcoming busy summer of ins and outs.

The 2022/23 season will certainly not be remembered fondly by anyone involved with Liverpool, but according to one former Red, there is an opportunity to build for the future. Barring a late season miracle, Liverpool are out of the running for Champions League football next season and will not be adding any more silverware to the trophy cabinet. With those options off the table, there is a prevailing thought amongst fans of the club whether it will be worthwhile to miss out on Europe all together and start with a clean slate next season. It will be a different thought process entirely for the manager and his players who have a great deal of professional pride and integrity and want to fight their way through this wretched campaign by picking up as many points as possible. Danny Murphy feels that whatever the results may be in the last 10 games of the season, Jurgen Klopp can walk away with some positives by tinkering with some player positions as he told The Mail. “Darwin Nunez has great strength, pace and carries an aerial threat. He’s a finisher, not a creator, so he’s wasted playing on the left. He’s going to be Liverpool’s main No 9 when Roberto Firmino leaves at the end of the season, so why delay? Let him have a proper feel of it now. “Firmino was a different type of centre-forward during Liverpool’s glory days of winning the Premier League and Champions League, but he was automatic first choice and was able to build relationships with Mo Salah and Sadio Mane. “Nunez needs to have that backing. He’s only 23, in his first season in the Premier League, and only had two years in the Portuguese top flight before that. “He’s going to be a super player but needs stability, while the rest of the team need to get used to him down the middle so they can get the best out of him. It’s hurting his development to be wide one week, centre-forward the next and on the bench after that.” A number of Liverpool players have dropped this level this season, but arguably none more so than Trent Alexander-Arnold. While the 24 year-old’s attacking quality from full back have been a major part of the team success in recent seasons, it has been increasingly evident that opposition sides are the targeting him defensively more than ever. It is for that reason that Murphy feels it is worth taking Alexander-Arnold out of the firing line. “Trent has such fabulous technical attributes, it would be fascinating to see if he could express himself without having the same amount of defensive responsibility or being left isolated against a winger. “There are different ways of going about it. If Klopp wanted to stick religiously to his tried and trusted 4-3-3, he’d have to play someone else at right-back and put Trent into the middle. But Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta have shown you can be flexible during games and turn a back-four into a three, so full-backs can step into midfield. "It would represent a tactical shift for Klopp, who has enjoyed the majority of his success with a standard 4-3-3. But Trent is such a talent, it’d be worth looking for alternative ways to get the best out of him. That could also be introducing three at the back so he and Andy Robertson would be wing-backs. “Or giving Trent an experienced midfield partner until he learns the details of the position: shorter, sharper positions, maybe being a bit more tenacious." Klopp has often spoken about the challenges of this season in a managerial sense but also taken positives out of them recently saying: “In the long term, this year will make me a better manager.You need to improve to get the best out of yourself. “You need to know about pretty much everything and of course it will help us as a coaching staff, definitely. But at the moment, the effects haven’t kicked in.” And Murphy feels adding to his staff could be of some benefit. “We see managers on television all the time but, as an ex-player, I can tell you the input of the coaches and other staff is hugely important in the daily workplace. “Klopp has been very close to assistants Peter Krawietz and Pep Lijnders during his time at Anfield. Krawietz has been with him for the whole eight years and Lijnders for seven of them. “No doubt they have the manager’s full trust and rightly so. I am not saying either one has to go, but I do think an extra fresh voice can be useful when a management team has been together so long.” We know that change is coming to the squad come the summer, but getting something beneficial out of this campaign could really help with any rebuild.

Jurgen Klopp says that the only way that his side will return to winning ways is by doing the basics. On Saturday, The Reds suffered their eighth loss on the road for the season losing 4-1 to Man City. After a first half performance where they performed admirably and matched the reigning Premier League holders, the second half could only be called a insipid display as City strolled around the wide expanses of Etihad stadium to do whatever they pleased with no pressure on them whatsoever. Speaking ahead of the midweek fixture against another team with troubles of their own in Chelsea (per the Mirror), the manager said recovering their confidence is a simple practice. “It’s about basics. It is not rocket science or has not turned into rocket science overnight. Yes. Yes, it is right. Football is based on basics, definitely, and yes I was not happy with it but I said that directly after the (City) game. “We did not tackle (against City). First goal, a pass to the outside and no challenge. The third goal is four or five versus one and then a pass arrives still in the box. That is not possible. We have to make sure we have a completely different approach to challenges, that is 100 per cent true.” After a bad loss It is a natural instinct for players to think they need to get things off their chest by speaking out. However the German who has been brutally honest about the failings of his team in recent times feels that the time for talking is over and now it is up to the players to deliver on the pitch starting with this evening at Stamford Bridge. “You have so many meetings. We have so many meetings but it is not about talking anymore but delivering, it is about doing, “That is what the message is actually. Over the season we spoke about everything pretty much 100 per cent on one specific point, just because on the table it is clear, you have to. You cannot just close your eyes and hope it gets better. The manager is banking on the level of professional pride within his squad to rectify their current issues. "I don’t think there is anyone there really who can explain the drop [in level] between the two halves (at City). They know what happened, so we have to change it.”

Liverpool will need to add a back-up goalkeeper to their transfer list if the latest report on Caoimhin Kelleher is on the mark. Football Insider reports that the club is expecting the Irish international to ask for a transfer in his quest for regular first-team football. Having a reserve goalkeeper of great quality is something of a double-edged sword as it keeps the number one on their toes and if there is a drop off in form, an injury or suspension then the manager is safe in the knowledge that the gap is not too big. But when that senior goalkeeper is as good as Alisson Becker, it means opportunities are extremely thin on the ground. There is little doubt that Kelleher would be the No 1 goalkeeper in the majority of Premier League clubs, indeed he may well be the best reserve goalkeeper in Europe at this point of time. But the truth of the matter is that the 24 year-old deserves to be playing a lot more than he is especially as he wants to grow his game at domestic as well as at a international level. Kelleher was outstanding as Liverpool defeated Chelsea on penalties in the League Cup final last season, but unfortunately for him, that was to be his last senior outing for this season. And in this campaign, opportunities have been even more thin on the ground with Liverpool exiting in the early stages of the domestic cup competitions (three appearances in total.) The current contract of Kelleher runs out in three years time means any sale will land the club a handy fee. The unflappable nature of Kelleher is what really stands out about him as a keeper and that is one element that you can’t really teach. His attention to detail is outstanding and a case in point is the fact that in November after a win against Derby, he became the Liverpool goalkeeper with most penalty shootout victories (four) and most shootout saves (six) in the club’s history. Klopp has never been one to hold a player back if they feel there is a better opportunity around, and this is especially the case with Kelleher. He is a unabashed fan of the Irishman’s qualities and in a perfect world would love to keep him around, but he knows that he is too good to be spending his days watching on from the sidelines.

Jurgen Klopp says that there is no sense of concern in his mind in regards to where his team is placed for the future. The decline of Liverpool’s form during this campaign has been one of the main talking points during this Premier League season. It has been difficult to put your finger on exactly what has been the cause of the drop-off due to the wild variations of performances. The highs have been euphoric such as the injury-time winner against Newcastle, the 7-0 thumping of Man United and a performance of great professionalism and focus when they defeated Man City in a tense contest in October. But to well and truly counter that, the lows have been rock-bottom, such as the truly dismal displays against Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Leeds, Brighton and Wolves. Much has been made of the need to regenerate the squad and speaking ahead of the lunch time fixture against Man City, the manager was again adamant that Liverpool would be spending money in the summer transfer window but did not go into major specifics. But more broadly, Klopp is focused on the present and finding a way to once again challenge for honours like have done consistently in previous seasons as the Mirror reported. “It is an anomaly. Look, of course it's completely normal for people to say 'that's not good enough, and here's not good enough, and there's not good enough', but that’s b******* because (of what happened) the years before. “It doesn’t change overnight, you don't lose all our brains and fitness and medical (department). Things happen and then you have to react, but when you are a little bit unlucky in this direction then it's really difficult and the league is running away at that moment." Such is the inconsistent nature of performances, even someone as wise and experienced as Klopp does not have a idea what his side will produce against their great rivals from the modern era this afternoon. “I would love to say; ‘How can you ask this question?’ But yes, in this moment nobody can be 100% sure what we will be like. “That is the situation we brought on ourselves - we showed all these kinds of faces, but the extent of it is a surprise. We are sixth, or seventh with the games in hand, and that is not where we want to be. For us that is not possible because we are not where we should be and where we have to be. “There is inconsistency in moments, and we seem to struggle when we go behind. That's something we have to change, obviously. If you can only perform when everything is going in your direction, then there's absolutely no chance.” Klopp intimated that talk is cheap however, and the proof will be in the performances from this point on. “All the talks we had, all the sessions we had, and when the players came back and I spoke to them - everything looks like it goes in the right direction and now we have to show it.”

Andy Robertson says motivation is still very high within the squad despite Liverpool being knocked out of all domestic and European cup competitions. The Reds under Jurgen Klopp have made a habit out of challenging for honours on multiple fronts, and winning their fair share along the way. However this season is somewhat different and after being defeated by their old nemesis Real Madrid before the international break, it means that the main objective from now until May is making sure they remain at the top table of European club competition by qualifying for the Champions League next season. As one of the more senior members of the squad, Robertson knows all about big games and what it takes to win them. In terms of their league campaign, this upcoming week could be the most challenging yet with a away clash to Man City on Saturday, followed by a midweek fixture against a fellow underperforming outfit Chelsea and ending with the Premier League leaders Arsenal. The Mirror reported Robertson as saying. “It is obviously a big week, we are playing against three big teams and it is going to be an intense week but it’s what you look forward to when you come to this club. These are the big games you want to be involved in. “Going into April, not being in the Champions League, FA Cup or League Cup, and then not being in a title race is so disappointing - it’s a position we don’t want to be in,” he explained. “We are out of every competition, but we still believe we are a team that can compete in every competition. So to fix that, we have to be in these tournaments again next season, and the only way to do that is finishing in the top four. So we’ve got 12 games to fix it, and we are determined to put our all into those next 12 games.” But to achieve that goal, Liverpool have to copy the kind of run that they produced in the 2020/1 season. Their best winning streak in the league this campaign is four which occurred either side of the World Cup and they will have to produce a unbeaten run of some substance to cut the gap on Tottenham and Newcastle. Robertson knows that the consistency needs to improve substantially. “(Standards) have to to be on the highest level when you play at this club - you don't get an option not to do that, the people around the club demand that. I think we do that, but we have just lacked a little bit of consistency this season. “In the last five or six years consistency is the one word that would be put next to our name, as we always showed up and even when not at our best we still managed to grind out results. We haven’t done that this season, and we have to fix that.”

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain seems ever closer to departing Liverpool in the summer with three Premier League clubs looking at signing the out of contract midfielder. The 29 year-old headed into his sixth season at the club wanting to make a positive impression on Jurgen Klopp, but any plans were derailed when he suffered a serious hamstring injury against Crystal Palace in a pre-season friendly in Singapore. From that moment it has been a uphill battle for minutes with the England international returning to full fitness in mid October and only making 12 appearances in all competitions which has included five starts. In many ways, this season has been a snapshot of his Liverpool career, an ill-timed injury meaning that he is behind the eight-ball. And with Liverpool looking to regenerate their midfield in the summer, Oxlade Chamberlain who has made 145 appearances and scored 18 goals will be one of the players to make way. But despite the lack of opportunities in recent times, there still appears plenty of suitors. The Daily Mail reports that Brighton, Newcastle and Aston Villa have a interest in his services. Brighton were indeed looking at Oxlade-Chamberlain in January but held firm knowing that they could get him for nothing come the end of the season, while Newcastle are looking for more midfield depth as they aim to competing on the European stage next season. The report also speculates that there are some Serie A clubs also interested. So between now and the end of the season, the player affectionately known as ‘Ox’ will be hoping he can contribute in a positive fashion to the fortunes of his current team.

Rhys Williams is set to depart Liverpool on a permanent departure in the summer according to a new report. The central defender became a very important figure in the 2020/1 season when Liverpool were severely down on numbers due to season ending injuries to Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip. It meant that Williams and Nat Phillips had to develop a partnership with the team chasing what seemed to be a unlikely top four berth. The unheralded duo that had been on loan at Kidderminster Harriers and Stuttgart the season before, exceeded all expectations starting the last five games together and maximum points were claimed in those fixtures clinching Champions League football in the process. It seemed for all intents and purposes that the academy graduate was on a upward trajectory but it is fair to say he has not come close to reaching those heights since. With the senior contingent fit again, Williams was sent on loan to Swansea for the 2021/2 season, however he found first team opportunities hard to come by only making seven appearances (five starts) and returned to the Reds in January of last year. The 22 year-old was sent to Blackpool at the start of this campaign but after a promising start, fell out of favour and was recalled to his parent club to add defensive cover when Van Dijk went down with a hamstring injury. Since his return, Williams has been playing for the U/21s in Premier League 2. But moving ahead, it seems that Williams who is under contract until June 2026 will at a new club next season with Football Insider reporting that he is not in Jurgen Klopp’s first team plans in this present moment or seen as someone who can regularly press for selection in the future. The report also stated that there are a few Championship clubs who are interested in the defender who was capped by England at U/18, U/19 and U/21 level. At this point of time, Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are the preferred starters in central defence while Matip and Gomez are more than adequate cover. That is unlikely to change heading into next season but with Phillips also been linked to a departure, the fifth spot is there for the taking. That may be a graduate from the academy, or indeed the returning Sepp van den Berg who has endured a nightmare campaign on loan with Schalke having been on the sidelines for five months with a ankle ligament injury, and then twisting his ankle again after his comeback in a reserve game a few weeks ago. It remains to be seen if the young Dutchman is sent out for more experience again, or if he does enough to impress the coaches in the pre-season to stick around.

Ibrahima Konate says that he feels right at home at Liverpool and there is no better place for his game to grow further. The 23 year-old central defender may have only played just over 40 games for the Reds and is still honing his game to some extent. Like quite a few Liverpool players in recent times, Konate has had to overcome his share of injuries but when fit, he has established a very promising partnership with Virgil Van Dijk. 2022 was a hallmark year for Konate, starting the Champions League final in the city where he was born, and then winning his first cap for the senior French national team and was part of their World Cup squad where he made five appearances. Naturally, the youngster has personal goals he wants to achieve and feels that there is no better place to achieve them than where he is as at the moment as the Echo (per Eurosport France) reported. “When you play for Liverpool, the question honestly is, ‘Where can I go next? "And to last at this club, you have to perform. My goal is to be part of the team in the short and long-term, and of course to win all titles. “We'll admit it: this season is more complicated for all of us, for the whole club. Nobody is better placed to talk about the reasons than the coach. "We were unlucky to have a lot of injured players like me at the beginning of the season, maybe we were short of manpower, the workload was intense and it became complicated. But the season is not over." When it comes to playing with Van Dijk, Konate believes the big Dutchman still has no peer in the game, bristling at comparisons to his former RB Leipzig teammate and countryman Dayot Upamecano. “What kind of question is that?" "You can't compare the two. With Upamecano, we are in the same category even if he is a very high competitor. “But Van Dijk, I put him on a different planet. We're still a long way from achieving what he did. Although we will get there one day, I have no doubt. Konate then touched on what the iconic defender had taught him in all facets of the craft. “What have I learned from playing with Van Dijk? Leadership, he has such an ease in defending on certain players. "He has his own technique, it's incredible. His determination, his drive. He has an aura on the pitch, you always feel it. It's an exceptional chance to play with him. But I also have to look at my career and not look at him as a fan all the time."

James Milner will need to accept a cut to his wages if he is to extend his stay at Liverpool for a ninth season. The veteran midfielder is arguably the most respected player in the current squad by coaches and players alike for his professionalism and ability to fill multiple roles when asked. There has been an expectation that change is coming to a squad that has climbed the mountain on multiple fronts but is in need of a refresh. Roberto Firmino is the first big name to say he is departing at seasons end, while it is highly expected that Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will follow. The 37 year-old is not only valued for his playing ability but also as a true student of the game and there has been speculation that he will be part of Jurgen Klopp’s back room staff when he calls time on his career. But all indications is that time is not yet on the horizon and Football Insider report that the club is preparing an extension albeit with a reduction in wages. Last contract saw Milner’s weekly wage cut to £60,000 per week and it is believed that will be reduced further with any future deal. Klopp is believed to be pushing the board to give Milner the extension believing that his ‘leadership and off field presence’ is invaluable to the atmosphere within the squad and that he will leave a huge void were he to depart in the summer. Speaking recently about the veteran, Klopp was glowing in his praise. “You can’t judge him normal for his age. He is 37, doesn’t look a day like this when he is in training. “He’s a role model. I have told him, I can tell the whole world – nothing we have achieved in the last few years would have happened without James Milner, it’s as easy as that.” For a player who has played more than 20 seasons at the highest level, it is a credit to himself that he has been available so readily this season, currently sitting on 32 appearances and in the three seasons before this campaign he has averaged 37 games per season. It is that kind of availability that is a testament to his preparation and a shining example to those who are much younger.