Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has provided insight into the club’s unsuccessful pursuits of midfielders Jude Bellingham, Moises Caicedo, and Roméo Lavia.
Bellingham, 20, completed a reported €103 million move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid. Additionally, Chelsea acquired Caicedo and Lavia from Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton, respectively, for reported fees of £115 million and £58 million.
Liverpool made offers of £111 million for Caicedo and £45 million for Lavia, as reported by Liverpool World and Guardian. Although a deal with Brighton was reportedly agreed upon for Caicedo, the player opted to join Chelsea. Notably, there were no formal bids made for Bellingham.
Reflecting on these pursuits six months later, Klopp expressed minimal regrets as Caicedo and Lavia have encountered challenges at Stamford Bridge. Ahead of their Premier League encounter at Anfield, Klopp stated (as per Liverpool World):
“We were interested in Bellingham, but it became evident that it wouldn’t materialize. We explored the possibility of signing Caicedo, but he had already formed an emotional attachment with Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino. Similarly, Lavia had his motivations – so we were in the mix. Eventually, we found our optimal solution.”
Content with the current midfield options, Klopp remarked:
“We identified Wataru Endo, and we were aware that Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) could fill the position. Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) had always been on my radar. If one of the £100 million signings had come through, there wouldn’t have been room for another. This underscores our fortunate circumstances, where everything has worked out in the ‘if not’ scenario.”
Liverpool leads the Premier League standings with 48 points from 21 matches, while Chelsea trails by 17 points in ninth place.
