Peter Krawietz: Liverpool Boss Jurgen Klopp Won't Spend for 'Sake of Spending'

Liverpool assistant manager Peter Krawietz has said club chief Jurgen Klopp won't "spend for the sake of spending" after the club has invested only £1.3 million in transfers so far this summer. 

The Reds spent around £160 million on new players last summer—one of whom was £66.8 million goalkeeper Alisson—and bought Virgil van Dijk for £75 million from Southampton in January 2018.

Krawietz—who has served as Klopp's assistant at Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool—told The Athletic's Raphael Honigstein (h/t MailOnline's Sam McEvoy) the boss won't spend big unless he feels it's necessary:

"This is not a PlayStation game. We can't design our own players or buy them with virtual currency. It comes down to the budget and the available options. Who's on the market and for how much? 

"And you still have to compare them to the players already in the squad. If £40 million won't buy you a noticeable improvement, if we don't see how that guy will lift up our performances to the next level, Jurgen will never do it. He won't spend for the sake of spending.

"We had made up our mind that it would be Van Dijk or no one. There was no keeper on the market that would have made a real difference to us, as I recall. We'd make the same decision again today."

Spending is a hot topic for the Premier League elite at present. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola recently responded to remarks made by Klopp, who said Liverpool couldn't afford to live in "fantasia land" like some clubs, appearing to include City in that bracket, via Sky Sports:

Liverpool spent the aforementioned £1.3 million to capture Sepp van den Berg from PEC Zwolle in July. The club also signed 16-year-old Harvey Elliott on a free transfer, though it's been reported Fulham stand to receive a record compensation fee in excess of £10 million for that deal.

The other new signing at Anfield this summer is goalkeeper Adrian, whose arrival on a free was confirmed on Monday:

That means Liverpool stand to make a significant profit on the books this summer. The Press Association (h/t Guardian) reported Simon Mignolet's transfer to Club Brugge is worth an initial £6.4 million (with £1.8 in add-ons), while Southampton paid another £18 million to sign Danny Ings permanently this summer.

Former first-team regulars Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno also left following the expiration of their contracts to free space on the club's wage bill.

Krawietz, who was first appointed to work under Klopp at Mainz in 2001, continued:

"You have to consider all of this, but perhaps the thinking in England is a little different in that respect. Spend, spend, spend. It's all down to what you do in the transfer market. That may even be true, to some extent. 

"On the other hand, we still believe in the possibility of developing a player, through training and systematic routines."

The recruitment of youngsters like Elliott and defender Van den Berg, 17, suggests there is a focus on Liverpool's next generation of stars, not all of whom need to cost massive sums.

Broadcaster Deji Faremi called on the Reds midfield to help steer the club this season following a slow summer of transfer activity:

Last year, Tottenham became the first club in Premier League history to not complete a summer signing since transfer windows were introduced. They finished fourth in the division and lost 2-0 to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League final.

That performance suggests new transfers—never mind expensive ones—aren't critical to having a successful season, a theory the Reds will put to the test in 2019-20.