Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said he is puzzled by Manchester United‘s transfer business this summer but not surprised by the spending power of Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
United signed Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund for £73 million and have agreed a fee around £34m with Real Madrid to sign Raphael Varane.
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When asked about the spending of the club’s rivals in a news conference ahead of Liverpool‘s Premier League opener against Norwich City on Saturday, Klopp replied: “We all know the situation of Chelsea and City and PSG.
“What United are doing, I don’t know how they did it. We have our own way to do it. We are allowed to spend the money we earn, that we always did. This year we spent before we earned money with [Ibrahima] Konate because after last season, just to be clear, we cannot take any risk in this position at all.
“I’m never surprised about the financial power of Chelsea, City or United, I’ve been here long enough to know they always find a solution to these things.”
City broke the British transfer record to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100m and could spend more in their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.
Chelsea broke their club record fee to sign Romelu Lukaku while PSG sealed a sensational move for Lionel Messi on a free transfer.
Klopp also praised Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk after he signed a new four-year contract at the club.
“It’s great news. We are really happy that he is happy here,” he added. “Imagine if we had to buy this boy now. Thankfully we only have to give him a new contract.”
Konate has been the club’s only summer signing and when asked if they needed to bring in another midfielder after Georginio Wijnaldum‘s departure, Klopp replied: “You tell me which player we need, I’m really interested.
“What type of player would you like to sign? Should he score more goals than Gini? Should he defend better than Fabinho? Be more creative than Naby [Keita], Curtis [Jones], Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and [Harvey] Elliott?”