Better than Bellingham, the player Klopp doesn't regret signing over Jude

Jurgen Klopp discussed targets he wanted for Liverpool but is happy with who he has.

31/01/2024, 03:18 PM +00:00

Jurgen Klopp admits wanting Bellingham in the summer for Liverpool but has been impressed by Endo.

Jurgen Klopp discussed that this new Liverpool squad will be fine for the next few seasons without him. After building a completely different team when he first arrived, Klopp stayed a little more to bring in more new players into the squad, like Luis Diaz, Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister, and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Klopp and Liverpool needed a rebuild in midfield this season after important players in the club left, like Jordan Henderson, Georgino Wijnaldum, Fabinho, and James Milner. Liverpool fans demanded new young signings for the team this season and wanted the club to prioritize signing a center-defensive midfielder. Many rumors linked Jude Bellingham to move to Liverpool, which excited Liverpool fans. Liverpool could not afford Bellingham, and the English midfielder moved to Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund for 103 million euros.

Liverpool went on a midfield signing spree this summer and bought Szoboszlai for 70 million euros, Mac Allister for 42 million euros, Ryan Gravenberch for 40 million euros, and Endo for 20 million euros after selling their other players from their wage bill.

Although they signed four midfielders, Liverpool fans were unconvinced if they signed the correct center-defensive midfielder for the team. All the midfielders besides Endo are not a natural defensive midfielder. Endo has shut the haters and has delivered. Unlike players like Mac Allister, who plays more like an 8, Endo has shown him to be comfortable in that position. Klopp mentioned Bellingham when asked about the last transfer window and says he is lucky to have Endo.

Klopp admits wanting Bellingham, Caicedo, and Lavia but is lucky to have brought in Endo to Liverpool

Klopp mentioned that he and the club were interested in signing Bellingham but said the deal was hard to complete. He also mentioned other targets but praised Endo for joining the club. Klopp says, "We wanted Bellingham and realized it would not happen. We thought we could maybe do Caicedo. So we went in... but he had an emotional agreement already with Chelsea and Pochettino. Lavia had his own reasons. So we were there. We were lucky... we found Wataru [Endo]."