Jurgen Klopp has announced that Liverpool’s main target next season is qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
Liverpool are sixth on the Premier League table, eight points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, with two games in hand. However, Liverpool played one of the two games in hand against Aston Villa last night.
‘I understand it, I want to be in the Champions League all the time, but for the moment we have two pathways still to qualify for next year, and as long as that’s the case I see ourselves as a proper contender.’
When asked whether Liverpool would find it hard to attract players – Bellingham or otherwise – if they failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League, he replied thus: ‘It’s very important for the club. It’s our main target now. From a transfer point of view? I think we have a good chance of qualifying generally. This year, not 100 percent, but 100 percent we are contenders for the next few years.
‘And if you ask a player [to sign] and he says ‘well next year you are not in the Champions League, so I would rather go to another club’, I am not sure I would want this player any more, to be honest.
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He described England midfielder Jude Bellingham as “exceptional”.
The Borussia Dortmund player, 19, starred at the World Cup in Qatar as England reached the quarter-finals. He made his World Cup debut in Qatar, scoring in England’s opening 6-2 win against Iran and was one of his team’s standout performers at the tournament.
Bellingham has repeatedly been linked with a big-money move to Liverpool and European champions Real Madrid.
“I don’t like to talk about money when you talk about a player like him,” said Klopp.
“Everyone can see he is just exceptional.”
“If you mention to someone who has no clue about football, or who knows about football and has not watched it for a while (and ask) ‘How old do you think Jude Bellingham is?’, I don’t think anyone would get even close to his age.
“They would say 28 or 29 because he plays so mature. He played an exceptional World Cup. Absolutely exceptional.
“With all the things he has and things he can improve, to describe him I would say the things he can do are difficult to learn, and the things he can improve are easy to learn.
“So, yes, he is a really good player. What can I say? I have thought that already for two or three years since he had his breakthrough at Dortmund.