For fans of other clubs in the Football Transfer Tavern this evening, it’s simply inescapable. Jurgen Klopp is the new Liverpool manager and in fairness to Reds supporters, you can’t begrudge them their moment!
An outstanding appointment on paper, Klopp has steadily seen his stock rise as a manager with international repute given his fine workings with Borussia Dortmund whom he secured back-to-back Bundesliga titles with a few seasons back.
Now experiencing his first taste of management outside his German homeland, Klopp has described the Liverpool job as the most challenging in world football yet everybody is incredibly eager for the domestic action to return so we can see how he goes about shaping this Reds side who are playing at a mediocre level at the moment.
Only four points off second-placed Arsenal and third-placed Manchester United at present, if Klopp can go on a positive early run, there’s no reason why the Reds can’t haul themselves up into the top four reckoning and then maybe the title race yet again if sides continue to falter in front of them.
That said, no matter what happens in the next few weeks, Reds fans are a lot more hopeful once again with many having lost a sense of direction in where Brendan Rodgers was taking the team.
With Klopp set to put his stamp on this Liverpool team and with the January transfer window on the horizon, many fans by the bar are nattering that the German boss will want to bring his own new players in and with this in mind, we’ve devised a list of five current Reds stars who could be facing the chop from the Kop under Klopp!
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Click on the image below to reveal the five players who could face the chop under Klopp at Liverpool.
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Joe Allen
A better love story than Titanic, Brendan Rodgers and Joe Allen were a mediocre match made in heaven according to one hardened Liverpool supporter over by the fruit machine.
While this could be deemed to be harsh, you get where he is going with his views with Rodgers ultimately losing direction at the Reds helm while as for Allen, there are still a whole host of Liverpool supporters who don’t know exactly what it is he brings to the team.
The Welsh international has been praised at international level for his contributions to Chris Coleman’s side but it seems the bit-part nature to his role at Anfield doesn’t suit him with the former Swansea City man being unable to find his best form at club level.
Often criticised for being not good enough and too lightweight for a club who have designs on winning the Premier League title, we could easily see Joe Allen signing up for Brendan Rodgers at whichever club he receives his next crack at management at.
Mario Balotelli
An absolute no-brainer?
Surely nobody in their right mind, let alone Jurgen Klopp would decide to persevere with the Liverpool career of Mario Balotelli once his season-long loan spell back at AC Milan is over?
An absolute disaster of a signing, Balotelli only scored one Premier League goal against Tottenham last season and this quite simply isn’t good enough for a player brought in for as much as £16 million.
One of Brendan Rodgers’ biggest mistakes in charge with the Northern Irishman infamously claiming that Balotelli brought “trouble” with a wry smile upon signing him, it all seems rather laughable now doesn’t it Reds fans?
Lucas Leiva
Somebody who Liverpool supporters will tell you is an unsung hero, yet rival fans might not see the benefit in retaining him, Lucas Leiva is somebody who often fades into the background in this Reds team.
That is not necessarily a bad thing with the Reds’ win percentage often increasing when he’s in the team but considering he’s been linked with an Anfield exit more frequently in recent transfer windows, we don’t know how much longer the long-serving Brazilian will be around.
A central midfield partnership of Jordan Henderson and James Milner is many Reds fans’ preferred starting duo and with the former player currently out with injury, Lucas will have to ensure he’s at his best in the interim to prove himself good enough to Klopp.
With the German boss’ former club Borussia Dortmund boasting some incredibly sought-after players in the defensive midfield role in the shape and form of Ilkay Gundogan and Sven Bender, perhaps the new Reds boss might be sizing up one of those players either in January or next summer.
Divock Origi
Seemingly a Capital One Cup and Europa League group stage player at best right now for Liverpool, it’s been a shame that it hasn’t really worked out for Divock Origi at Liverpool so far.
When signed back in 2014 ahead of the World Cup where he became the youngest goalscorer ever in the competition, Origi’s stock was high but having gone on to be voted in a worst Ligue 1 eleven of the season upon returning back to Lille on loan last term, he’s lost his way somewhat.
Used sparingly by Brendan Rodgers prior to his sacking too, it appears Origi is destined for a loan switch in January and with Danny Ings having started scoring, not to mention Daniel Sturridge’s return, we think Jurgen Klopp might decide to temporarily chop the young Belgian international.
Dejan Lovren
One of Brendan Rodgers’ disaster signings in the Anfield hotseat, Liverpool supporters are still questioning why the now former Reds boss shelled out a huge £20 million for the Croatian international’s services.
To be fair, prior to signing for the Reds, Lovren had actually put in a cracking series of performances back in the 2013/14 season as Southampton captain so nobody was really knocking the decision to seal a deal that much back then.
But fast forward to 2015 and Lovren has become something of a laughing stock for rival fans given his series of high-profile errors which have most recently included a gaff against West Ham United which led to a Mark Noble goal.
Right now by the bar, some Reds fans are daring to dream that Klopp’s appointment could herald a series of signings that may include Borussia Dortmund’s star defender Mats Hummels and if the new Reds boss had serious designs on luring the German international to Anfield next summer, you could easily see Lovren succumbing to a Klopp chop.
They’d just need to find a willing buyer first while naturally making a huge loss on the Croatian!