Jurgen Klopp could be transferred after 19 games at Liverpool as Cody Gakpo clarifies his transfer position

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp may or may not have personal concerns about his team, but he has publicly backed them to make the Premier League top four.

For Liverpool, the January transfer window effectively ended before it had even started properly.

The Reds announced on 28 December that they had reached an agreement to sign PSV Eindhoven striker Cody Gakpo, who would prove to be their only signing.

Considering when he graduated and Gakpo’s limited impact in his early games, it’s almost easy to forget that $54m commitment – he failed to score or provide. an assist in his first five appearances for his new club.

But the most important thing is that he doesn’t want it enough. What Liverpool really needed this month was a reinforcement in midfield. One seemed essential, two would have made sense, but neither happened.

Heading into January, fans among fans agreed the Reds would miss out on a top-four spot if they didn’t seek a midfield fix mid-season.

Many will therefore write off their chances at this stage, but manager Jürgen Klopp would remain optimistic.

“While Liverpool are on the move at the moment,” wrote David Maddock of the Mirror on Tuesday, “Klopp remains publicly convinced that his side are strong enough to still be in contention for a top four and Champions League football – and above all funding – to secure next season.”

There are two options here. The first is that Klopp’s public face is deceiving as, like the majority of the fanbase, he doesn’t really believe he’s had enough but will just try to assert himself.

The German may have been told that there were no more funds available for a midfielder after joining Gakpo and decided there was no point in making pessimistic noises.

Where other managers might use the media to pressure the property, Klopp might believe such a move would only demotivate his existing squad. When he’s spent virtually the entire season trying to restore his faith, it seems counterintuitive.

If the FSG were still unlikely to be swayed, what would that really do, apart from fueling tension and doubt? The second possibility, however, is that Klopp remains faithful even in private.

Jürgen Klopp may have to change his tune at Liverpool over the next 19 games. (Image: photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

This may seem like a naive suggestion. After all, surely one of the smartest managers in the world would recognize a glaring flaw in his team?

Still, if midfield were the primary concern, Klopp could theoretically have funneled the $50 million available to him in that direction. The acquisition of Gakpo seems to clarify the market position of the manager.

He seems to have come to the conclusion that there are greater reasons for his team’s current woes than weaknesses in the middle of the park, not the least of which is the unrelenting succession of injuries that have befallen the team.

Klopp has implemented a new formula in recent games, introducing Stefan Bajčetić and Naby Keita as part of a revamped midfield and a more conservative approach from ball possession. Perhaps he expects things to go really well when key players like Virgil van Dijk and Luis Díaz return, allowing Liverpool to put together the kind of form that will give them a chance to finish in the top four.

If this is his mentality and his team is wrong, then maybe his prospects will change in the future. He may find that he has already gotten the most out of a number of his midfielders and that his squad will need a major overhaul, not mere changes, if Liverpool are to compete for the top accolades again. .