Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has conceded that the Reds need the added financial boost that comes with Champions League qualification to plan for future transfers.
It is by now well-known that the Reds are in desperate need of reinforcements amid what has been a miserable season by the club's high standards. Klopp's troops currently languish as low as eighth in the Premier League table, level on points with ninth-placed Brentford having played a game more.
As a result, fans are desperate to see Liverpool invest in new players that will raise the level and restore them to their former glories. Currently, the Reds are seven points adrift off the Champions League qualification places, though they do boast two games in hand over Tottenham, who currently occupy fourth spot.
Klopp was recently pressed for comment on whether missing out on European club football's most prestigious competition would mean the Reds are hamstrung in the summer transfer window.
He replied: "It’s not helpful (if Liverpool miss out on the top four). Money always has an impact. But this cannot be that much of an impact, let me say it like this.
“Of course it is influential but this is a summer where we have to be in the market, definitely. I am sorry that we cannot guarantee the Champions League at this moment but it’s not done yet.
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"We will fight for it so we don’t have to talk about it as though it is not possible. But it is tricky and difficult and if (we qualify), it will be a late decision, I guess. We have to start doing work earlier than before we know where we will end up position-wise and European competition-wise, so these things are clear here."
Much of the Reds fanbase had harboured hopes owners Fenway Sports Group were going to sanction a full-scale sale, but owner John W. Henry has quashed that talk and insisted they are only interested in other parties buying a minority stake in the club.
"Are we talking with investors about LFC? Yes. Will something happen there? I believe so, but it won’t be a sale," Henry admitted.
Klopp also discussed Henry's comments, as the Reds boss told reporters how he is hopeful of a smooth conclusion to the off-field sagas currently at play.
"I am optimistic when he (Henry) is optimistic because it is his business.
"My job is to make it 100 percent clear what we need from a sports point of view and then other people are responsible for giving us the resources or whatever. I have nothing to do with that."
