Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher has warned the club not to rest on their laurels when it comes to recruitment, pointing out the important role played by manager Jurgen Klopp.
Plenty of credit has been given to the Reds' other staff, including former sporting director Michael Edwards and the soon-to-depart Julian Ward. However, Carragher suggested the Merseyside club would come to recognise the importance of Klopp when the manager eventually leaves Anfield.
The former Borussia Dortmund boss signed a contract extension in April, meaning he will have been at Liverpool for more than a decade if he sees out the current deal. During that time, Klopp has built the squad which won the Premier League, Champions League and several other trophies, signing off on the recruitment of men who have gone on to become the Reds' biggest stars.
“People always say, ‘oh, Liverpool always get their recruitment right’,” Carragher told The Anfield Wrap’s JURGEN docu-series supported by ERDINGER.
“Well, let’s see if Liverpool get their recruitment right when Jürgen Klopp leaves. Because there’s a big difference, you can still buy the same players but not be as successful.
“That’s something that I think we’ve all got to be mindful of the day Jurgen Klopp leaves the club, that he is more important than anyone in these players performing well, not whoever has bought the players in.
"Liverpool will still attract good players, top players, because we pay top wages, we pay top fees. The fact that we get more out of our signings than possibly any big club anywhere right now is testament to Jürgen Klopp."
Carragher pointed to Jordan Henderson, a man signed before Klopp's arrival but who has reached new levels under the German. "Now Jordan Henderson’s got to go down as one of the most successful captains in Liverpool’s history and that’s a lot down to Jordan, of course it is, but a lot is down to Jürgen Klopp and the turnaround of the football club,” he said.
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Klopp's Liverpool have been tipped to recruit in the January transfer window as they look to claw their way up the Premier League table. The Reds sit seven points outside the Champions League spots, having already lost more matches in the competition than they did all of last season.
Injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota have prompted suggestions a new forward could arrive at Anfield. Diaz, who joined the squad on their warm-weather training camp during the World Cup, suffered a setback and is now not expected to return until March.
Liverpool return to Premier League action with a Boxing Day trip to Aston Villa, before hosting Leicester on December 30. Before then, though, there is the small matter of an EFL Cup clash with Manchester City as Klopp's team aim to defend their title.
The Anfield Wrap, supported by ERDINGER, have produced a five part docu-series called JÜRGEN. The first episode is available to watch for free, here
