“The market will be really strange” — Jurgen Klopp offers Mbappe, Haaland & Sancho transfer prediction
Jurgen Klopp is expecting a quiet summer transfer window despite the usual speculation “about big-money moves”.
As we approach the 2020/21 finishing line, the rumour mill has started to warm up and ‘big players’ are beginning to be linked with ‘big clubs’.
Among those touted to be in the crosshairs of Europe’s heavy hitters are the usual suspects, chief among those being Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho.
The former is yet to extend his stay at PSG with his contract set to expire next summer, and Real Madrid are believed to be firm favourites for his signature, while the latter continues to be heavily linked with Manchester United, particularly if Borussia Dortmund miss out on Champions League football.
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However, despite the typical water cooler talk, Klopp is not expecting any earth-shattering activity this summer, believing the current landscape of football has altered drastically over the last year, such that “big-money moves” will be a rare occurrence in just a few months’ time.
When quizzed on what he is expecting this summer, Klopp responded: “Yeah, not a lot!
“It is always how it is. What happens depends on the business, if someone wants to leave, if we sell, stuff like this. That’s why we can never really plan early.
“Not playing Champions League doesn’t help obviously, but it is not our biggest problem.
“The market will be really strange. I hear a lot about big-money moves, is Mbappe going or not, Haaland, Sancho, these kind of things. I don’t see that happening a lot this summer because the football world is still not in the same place it was before.
“Getting players back [from injury] makes us already better. These are our first transfers. We don’t know exactly when that will happen, but it will happen. All the rest, we have to see.
“If we don’t go to Champions League it is not good but there is still a chance. But if not, then we have to deal with that.”
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Van Dijk will return to pre-season after self-imposed Euro 2020 omission
In more positive news for Liverpool fans, Virgil van Dijk has revealed he will return to pre-season training for the Reds in a monumental boost to the club’s preparations for the 2021/22 season, while also revealing that he will not take part in Euro 2020 for the Netherlands.
The Dutch defender has been sidelined since October’s Merseyside derby after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and while he is nearing a return to fitness, he has taken a more pragmatic approach to his rehabilitation, shunning the chance to partake in this summer’s European Championship.
He said: “In this latest stage for myself, I have come to a decision that I had to make: would I be involved in the Euros, yes or no?
“With everything that is going on, I feel physically it is the right decision that I’ve decided not to go to the Euros and to go into my last phase of rehab during the off-season. So, the full focus will be on pre-season with the club and that’s a realistic goal, so I am looking forward to that.
“Obviously I am very gutted to miss the Euros, to miss the European Championship and leading out my own country there, but things have been like they have and I have to accept it – we all have to accept it. I think the decision to not go is the right decision in the grand scheme of things. It’s tough, but I’m at peace with it.”
