Jurgen Klopp found himself disagreeing with Jurgen Klopp and Jurgen Klopp accepted Jurgen Klopp had been wrong. Or, to put it another way, the Liverpool manager has changed his mind. In 2016, he had said he would not spend £100million on a player – “The day this is football, I’m not in a job anymore” – and in 2023 Brighton accepted Liverpool’s nine-figure bid for Moises Caicedo. If Klopp has changed, so have circumstances: Seven years ago, he was discussing Manchester United’s world-record purchase of Paul Pogba. Now Liverpool have made a British record offer for Caicedo.
“Everything changed,” Klopp said. “Do I like it? No. Did I realise I was wrong? Yes, definitely.” ‘Everything changed’ might serve as a summary of Liverpool’s summer, except that the revolution remains in progress. Liverpool have a new captain, a new vice-captain and a new midfield, even if there is no guarantee Caicedo will be a part of it: It remains very possible the 21-year-old will join Chelsea and probable he would prefer to. It is also feasible that Liverpool’s summer-long pursuit of Romeo Lavia will instead bring the Belgian to Anfield, though they feel a £50m asking price is steep for a teenager whose lone season of first-team football culminated in relegation.
