A stone-faced Jurgen Klopp sat in front of a smattering of journalists on the eve of a flight out to Thailand last July, bristling at the mere suggestion that his Liverpool squad needed another midfielder.
The Reds boss was thorough in his dismissal of that particular school of thought, outlining the qualities he believed already existed within a department that were all fit, present and ready for the pre-season trip to the Far East the following day.
"I don’t understand," Klopp said. "I do not understand. People told me about this discussion, but the last thing that would have crossed my mind is that we have to do this [sign a midfielder]. I know all these things, that we don’t score enough goals from midfield, this and that, but what do we want? This ‘Golden Cow’ that is producing absolutely everything, milk as well!"
