Jurgen Klopp has warned that Liverpool will not be held to ransom in their summer search for midfielders and will walk away from deals for overpriced players rather than pay over the odds.
Klopp has pronounced himself confident that Liverpool will secure targets they want but are compiling shortlists with several names on them so they can switch focus if clubs try to charge them too much.
Liverpool are interested in Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo and Ryan Gravenberch, while Matheus Nunes has also been on their radar.
They are expected to sign at least two midfielders with James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and on-loan Arthur Melo all likely to leave Anfield.
But Klopp told selling clubs not to try and ask for too much, saying: “We cannot buy the player then. If they are overpriced we cannot do it.
“We will bring in players, I am pretty sure we will bring in the players we want and those who will help us. I am pretty confident of that. You never know 100 per cent until they are signed, but that is not new that some clubs might try that.
“Let me say it like this: you identify a position and you have not only one option on the position. That means they should all be good – to be honest, really good – and you might have a favourite but if the other club doesn’t want to sell or someone else will pay the price that we cannot go with it, but usually we got the players we wanted. The one thing is can we afford them and then they are here.”
