Creating Jurgen Klopp's 2016 Summer Blueprint for Liverpool

When Jurgen Klopp addressed reporters on his unveiling as Liverpool manager back in October, the German outlined his objective for the coming seasons on Merseyside, telling reporters including the Independent's Tom Sheen that "if I sit here in four years, I am pretty confident we will have one title."

This served as a crowd-pleasing statement of intent, and while Klopp's motivation to make such a claim remains unclear—whether it was partly in jest or he simply alluded to a trophy, rather than the Premier League title—expectations rose accordingly.

In his first season with the club, taking over from Brendan Rodgers after a disappointing start from the Ulsterman, Klopp saw the Reds finish eighth in the league, and while they reached the finals of the UEFA Europa League and the Capital One Cup, defeat in both ensured 2015/16 was considered a failure to launch.

While it is only one season down, three to go in Klopp's vision of success at Liverpool, this mix of progress and setback last season makes the next campaign, 2016/17, a hugely important one in the Anfield landscape.

Klopp took over in October without the virtues of a summer of preparation and recruitment, and therefore, the 48-year-old should be better placed to lead his side to glory in the coming season—but how can Klopp prepare for a successful 2016/17?

Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images

The former Borussia Dortmund manager's preparation for the next season reached a tangible beginning as early as the first week of January, with Liverpool confirming the signing of Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic from Red Star Belgrade.

Grujic returned to Red Star for the rest of the campaign, enjoying title success in the Serbian SuperLiga and rounding off the season with a first appearance for the Serbia national team—in a 2-1 win at home to Christakis Christoforou's Cyprus, a clash that saw him take the place of Chelsea's Nemanja Matic at half-time.

Speaking on the signing of Grujic in January, Klopp told the club's official website that he believes the 20-year-old can make an impact in 2016/17:

"

We will see, but of course, that’s what we think and you always need to have a little bit of fantasy because the leagues are different but he’s tall enough and young enough to get stronger and all these things.

The skills he has now have made him the player we wanted and now we can start working together. We think he will be good for the Premier League.

"

Klopp's faith in Grujic suggests he is set to build a new-look, youthful side for his first full season on Merseyside, and this was duly followed by the acquisitions of centre-back Joel Matip (24) on a free transfer from Schalke and Loris Karius (22) in a £4.7 million deal with Mainz.

Both are likely to come in to perform a key role under Klopp, with Karius taking the No. 1 shirt with a view to challenging Simon Mignolet for the role of first-choice goalkeeper. In a video package released by the club on his arrival, the former Germany under-21s international's top-level credentials were highlighted:

Working to seal these signings early shows further intent from Klopp, who is clearly looking to build his squad before a busy summer—and this is how it must continue.

Piotr Zielinski (22), Mahmoud Dahoud (20), Mario Gotze (23) and Ben Chilwell (19) were revealed as early targets by Goal's Melissa Reddy in April, while a setback in Liverpool's bid to sign Gotze from Bayern Munich saw Sadio Mane (24) emerge as a possible signing, as reported by the Telegraph's Chris Bascombe at the end of May; like Grujic, Karius and Matip, each of these players' prime years are likely ahead of them.

	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	Signings & Targets, 2016
Average Age	23.77	23.31	24.15	21.75

The speed with which Klopp moved on from Gotze's reported rejection to pursue Mane further underlines his determination to seal signings quickly, and doing so could be vital as he prepares for an intensive pre-season. 

"The gaffer wants us to work really hard in preparation for next season to make sure we are fit and can deal with the intensity and his demands," Mignolet told Reddy in an interview for Goal at the end of May.

"We weren’t able to train much with all the games we played—the matches were like our training—so this gives him a chance to spend more time working on everything he expects from us."

The Belgian's stressing of Klopp's intensity, demands and, later, how he would "put his stamp" on his squad during pre-season refers to the hard work that the manager has planned for his side during the summer.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo's Andy Kelly in anticipation for the pre-season, Klopp revealed plans for triple training sessions in order to maximise his side's "physical potential":

"

Football is about training and all that we have done is because of the work we’ve done together. We have a special plan of what we want to do with the boys. They cannot go home now when they are off.

[...]

Everything you do is based around physical potential and what you create in pre-season is key to that. We are now really fit but because of the games, our best sessions have been the games.

"

Due to the rigorous nature of the 2015/16 season—a campaign that took in 63 games, including testing runs to the Europa League and League Cup finals—Klopp was unable to implement some of his more demanding methods in training.

But ahead of 2016/17, despite the distraction of international tournaments, Klopp will be granted this luxury, and plans are already in place for the ideal pre-season.

Liverpool's Pre-Season Fixtures, 2016

• July 8, Tranmere Rovers (A)
• July 13, Fleetwood Town (A)
• July 17, Wigan Athletic (A)
• July 20, Huddersfield Town (A)
• July 27, Chelsea (N)
• July 30, AC Milan (N)
• August 1, AS Roma (N)
• August 6, Barcelona (N)

With four domestic fixtures planned, along with four clashes in the International Champions Cup, Liverpool will have a busy summer to work on their fitness, and as Klopp told Kelly—"it’s not about beating our opponents"—he will be purely focusing on conditioning.

As the Express' Paul Joyce relayed in May, Klopp is also set to welcome dietician Mona Nemmer and fitness expert Andreas Kornmayer, both formerly of Bayern, to his staff this summer, continuing this emphasis on "physical potential," and this backroom overhaul should continue.

Liverpool's previous fitness and conditioning coach Ryland Morgans has already left his position, and identifying weak links in his staff and lining up replacements should be high on Klopp's list on summer priorities. 

Ben Hoskins/Getty Images

While Klopp has already set the wheels in motion for these crucial summer plans, if the German is to taste success in 2016/17, it can be argued that he must streamline his approach—taking his cues from the disappointment of his first season with Liverpool.

As the Reds' chances of Europa League glory increased in the closing months of the campaign, Klopp switched his priorities from the Premier League to his side's European endeavours.

This saw the German name a host of academy players in his starting lineups for clashes with Stoke City, Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Swansea City, Watford and West Bromwich Albion, and while this proved a positive experience for youngsters like Kevin Stewart and Sheyi Ojo, this likely affected results:

Liverpool Results With Rotated XI, April and May

• Liverpool 4-1 Stoke City
• Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool
• Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle United
• Swansea City 3-1 Liverpool
• Liverpool 2-0 Watford
• West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Liverpool

Form: W-W-D-L-W-D

Sandwiched between these results came a 4-0 win at home to Everton and a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, with Klopp naming his strongest lineup for both, and while it can be argued that poor results earlier in the campaign hampered Liverpool's progress in the league, muted form with a rotated side proved costly.

Dropping seven points following defeat to Swansea and draws with Newcastle and West Brom saw the Reds finish eighth but only six points behind fourth-placed Manchester City—highlighting the fine line between failure and success in the English top flight.

Without European competition in 2016/17, Klopp can look to emulate the Reds' title challenge in 2013/14 under Rodgers, focusing on the Premier League and a challenge with the likes of City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and reigning champions Leicester City.

It will no doubt be a tough test for Klopp in only his second season at Anfield, but by sealing his key signings early and overseeing a positive pre-season, Liverpool could well shine in the league in 2016/17.

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