A round-up of the latest Liverpool news as Jurgen Klopp discusses his ‘not for public’ talks with an Anfield player and the Reds set their asking price to sell Darwin Nunez.
Jamie Carragher feels Manchester United have two players Liverpool ‘wouldn’t have bought’
Reds hero Jamie Carragher has told Gary Neville that Manchester United signed two players in Casemiro and Christian Eriksen who Liverpool would never buy. He claims the Red Devils’ duo ‘cannot run’, which is the reason why Jurgen Klopp sold Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
Henderson and Fabinho switched Merseyside for Saudi Arabia last summer after decorated careers for Liverpool. The 33 and 30-year-olds helped Klopp take the Anfield club to the top of the Premier League and Champions League over their 492 and 219-game careers in red.
Casemiro, meanwhile, moved to Manchester United in August 2022 but had a nightmare as a makeshift centre-back at Crystal Palace this Monday. The 32-year-old was too rash to rush out of the backline and when he did, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise ran past him with ease.
Eriksen also joined Manchester United in July 2022 and had what has become a rare outing at Selhurst Park. The 32-year-old has only featured in four of the Red Devils’ last 14 Premier League games. And Carragher feels Liverpool would never have taken a punt on either one.
“Don’t forget Liverpool’s midfield last season and the reason it was changed,” Carragher told Neville on Stick to Football. “Jordan Henderson and Fabinho left because they couldn’t run.
“Liverpool wouldn’t have bought Casemiro and they probably wouldn’t have bought Eriksen. You have two players who you bought a year ago who can’t run.”
Read more about what Carragher has had to say about Casemiro and Eriksen, here.
Liverpool slap a £73m price tag on Barcelona target Darwin Nunez
Liverpool have set their asking price to sell Darwin Nunez over the summer transfer window amid interest from FC Barcelona. That is according to Sport, which reports that the Reds will demand no less than €85m (£73m) for their forward as they believe his value has improved.
Nunez cost the Merseyside natives an initial £64m, rising to a potential club record £85m, to sign from SL Benfica in June 2022. For their investment, the 24-year-old has gifted Liverpool 33 goals and 17 assists in 94 outings. But Barcelona are very interested in signing Nunez.
Super-agent Jorge Mendes is also very interested in convincing Nunez to quit Liverpool this summer. He holds the forward in very high regard and wants the Uruguayan to consider any offers to move clubs. But Nunez is not thinking about trying to force a way out of Liverpool.
Read more about Liverpool’s price tag to permit the transfer of Nunez, here.
Jurgen Klopp opens up on his ‘not for public’ conversation with Cody Gakpo
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has now opened up on a ‘not for public’ conversation with Cody Gakpo. The Reds coach sought to speak with the Dutchman earlier in the season after seeing him struggle for form. Klopp also struggled to understand why Gakpo was labouring.
The 25-year-old has been almost an ever-present part of Klopp’s matchday teams this term. Gakpo has featured in all 33 of the Premier League games he has been available for through the Reds’ 36 fixtures. But he has only started in 15 to get 1,489 minutes of a possible 2,970.
Gakpo has still managed to score seven and assist five goals in the league this season. Yet he only hit home twice and failed to create a goal in 16 games before Christmas. Now, Klopp has admitted that even he was lost for a way to help Gakpo rediscover his form at Liverpool.
“Cody, he knows that for a while he was not in his best moment,” Klopp noted in his Friday press conference. “We had a conversation there. It was not for [the] public what we spoke about but it helped him a lot because we could sort it a little bit.
“It’s just a problem [because] – can I speak in the first moment – [when] the player is not performing anymore to the levels you expect him to do, can you speak immediately? You can. But how can I have an answer for his situation if I don’t understand it?
“So, we have to try to look a bit longer into it and wait for a specific moment when I can give answers. Maybe from my point of view that took too long as well. That’s maybe the case. But after that, he really stepped up and it’s really good to see how physically strong [he is].”
Read more about what Klopp has had to say about Gakpo at Liverpool, here.