Liverpool Transfer News: Jurgen Klopp Talks Summer Plan Amid Mario Gotze Rumours

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will search for players who can look past the fact the Reds are unlikely to feature in next year's UEFA Champions League during the summer transfer window, and he won't comment on a potential move for Bayern Munich star Mario Gotze until a deal is done.

While the Reds can still qualify for Europe's top club competition by finishing in the Premier League's top four or winning the UEFA Europa League, the German has no interest in dealing for players who are obsessed with Champions League football, per Dominic King of the Daily Mail:

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Maybe 80 per cent we are not in the Champions League next year. So if I would speak to a player now and he would tell me “if you were playing in the Champions League next year, I would be really interested” then I would put the phone down from my side.

I always tell players if when you are 35 or 36 and look back on your career and you think about the one year you didn’t play Champions League then you are really a poor boy. There are so many things you can do and reach if you go together with the team.

You can qualify for the Champions League, play Champions League, maybe win it or whatever. It is a much more satisfying thing than all the rest. That is what I would say. It is pushing the train, not jumping on the running train. That is what we need here.

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The Reds will face UEFA Europa League favourites Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the tournament and currently sit in 10th place in the standings, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

The club has already signed two players who will join during the summer―Joel Matip and Marko Grujic―and more turnover is expected, as Klopp continues to fill out the squad with players who are strong fits for his system based around pressing and counter-attacking football.

Boris Streubel/Getty Images

One potential target that continues to come up is Gotze, who worked under Klopp while the two were at Borussia Dortmund and seems to be running out of time with Bayern Munich.

When asked about the 23-year-old, Klopp admitted he likes Gotze, but he refused to confirm or deny the club has an interest:

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It was not the best day in my life when I heard he was going to Bayern Munich. I have known him since he was 16. That is a long trip but he is still a young player. That is the only difference to all the other players around. I would never say anything about a transfer, whether we are interested or not.

I speak about transfers when they are done and not before. We can talk two hours about Mario Gotze but it would not change a per cent whether he comes here or goes wherever.

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Liverpool legend Jan Molby is one of many urging the club to take a chance on the attacking midfielder, pointing at the positive impact Klopp had on the youngster at the Signal Iduna Park in a recent piece for the Liverpool Echo.

Bleacher Report UK have also looked at the possibility of a move, although it was suggested Tottenham Hotspur might be an even better destination:

Gotze has barely featured for the Bavarians in the 2015-16 campaign, and while injury has been partially responsible for that, he has been relegated to the bench since he made his return. Per WhoScored.com, he's started just five Bundesliga matches all season.

For a promising young international, playing time is probably more important than Champions League football, and Gotze is in dire need of a change of scenery. A reunion with Klopp may be just what the doctor ordered, and the German manager hasn't exactly played down the speculation.

The Germany international is still a phenomenal talent, as you can see in the video below:

There will be other targets as well. Per King, the Reds are tracking Udinese's Piotr Zielinski and Leicester City's Ben Chilwell, two more youngsters with no Champions League experience.

Chilwell is regarded as one of the top young defenders in England, but the Foxes have tried to bring him along slowly, with Christian Fuchs maintaining his spot in the starting XI for now.

Per BBC Sport's John Bennett, he looks ready to take the next step:

At Anfield, he would likely provide cover for left-back Alberto Moreno and push the Spaniard for a starting position. Moreno has flashed his tremendous talent at times during the 2015-16 season, but some healthy competition could only make him better, and depth is never a bad thing.

Gotze would be an automatic starter the moment he set foot at Anfield, and in all likelihood, it wouldn't take him long to find his best form again under Klopp.  

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