Jurgen Klopp Talks Liverpool's Summer Transfer Window, Manchester City Rivalry
August 3, 2019
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said he is content with having his full squad together ahead of the new Premier League season, even without any major summer signings.
Following on from their UEFA Champions League success last term, Liverpool have opted against delving into the transfer market. It's a strategy at odds with the previous summer, when Alisson Becker, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri arrived.
Speaking ahead of the team's showdown with Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday, Klopp pointed to the different kind of business the club has done in terms of tying down the likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah to new contracts.
"For the first time in my career, from next Monday I will have the team back together again, that's true," he said, per Michael Walker of the Guardian. "These (new contracts) are the transfers we did. Keeping the boys together, staying aggressive, greedy: let's get going again."
Klopp said the players who have recently returned are in good condition, too:
The quest for silverware in 2019-20 will begin on Sunday at Wembley Stadium when Liverpool and City renew a rivalry that has intensified in recent years.
BT Sport Football took a look at what can be expected when the sides meet:
In the Premier League last term, City and Liverpool were involved in a thrilling title race, with the former eventually getting the better of the latter by a solitary point.
Despite how little there was between them last term, Klopp said he thinks City are "clear favourites" to win the domestic title again.
When asked why, the German said: "Because they've won the league twice in a row? That's one reason. Ours was the first year on that level; we have to prove again that we can be on that level. Ninety-seven points was not a coincidence, but it's not as if we outplayed all the teams, that we shot them out of the stadium constantly."
Per James Ducker of the Daily Telegraph, Klopp has said in the buildup to the game that Liverpool cannot compete with the "fantasia land" spending of City.
It was a comment that clearly irked City manager Pep Guardiola:
Given the burgeoning edge between the two teams and some spiky comments in the buildup to the match from both managers, Sunday's clash should be enthralling.
City and Liverpool appear poised to go head-to-head for the Premier League trophy again in 2019-20, as they were well clear of the chasing pack last term. Reds supporters will hope that Klopp's decision not to make any major acquisitions doesn't leave them short in another title battle with the Manchester outfit.