New Klopp deal a statement of Reds’ intent
Jurgen Klopp has pledged to leave a lasting legacy at Anfield after agreeing a new contract as Liverpool manager.
The 52-year-old has shaken hands on a deal with Mike Gordon, president of Liverpool’s owner Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which will keep him at the club until 2024.
‘‘This club is in such a good place, I couldn’t contemplate leaving,’’ Klopp, whose contract was due to expire in 2022, said.
‘‘It was not too bad till now but we don’t feel that it could not be better – so let’s try to make the best time of our lives.’’
Peter Krawietz and Pep Lijnders, his assistants, will also sign new long-term deals, while Liverpool announced yesterday that the midfielder James Milner has signed a two-year contract extension until 2022.
Klopp, who arrived in October, 2015, won the Champions League last season and his side is eight points clear at the top of the Premier League in pursuit of a first title since 1990.
The prospect of the German manager taking a sabbatical in two years had been mooted but Klopp will instead throw himself into ensuring that Liverpool stay ahead of their domestic and European rivals, describing the contract as a ‘‘statement of intent’’.
FSG has committed significant funds in tying down the nucleus of the squad for the long term but there will inevitably be a period of rebuilding required over the coming years.
One of the challenges facing Klopp and the sporting director Michael Edwards will be to maintain their success over the past four years in the transfer market.
‘‘This squad is outstanding,’’ Klopp said.
‘‘We all love it but we have to stay on track as other teams don’t sleep. We don’t sleep. We have to see what we change, what we don’t change. All of these decisions should be made out of a real comfortable situation.
‘‘When you are in [charge], you should be responsible for all that stuff and I feel responsible for it. When I leave [the club] at any point in my life, I hope that it is still in a very good place.
‘‘This team will always be the basis for all other [Liverpool] teams following. There is no need to make the same number of changes that we made in the last 41⁄2 years in the next 41⁄2 years. Absolutely not.
‘‘A player might want to leave, which is OK. Then we have to bring in the right replacement. To keep the level we are on, we have to be on our toes.
‘‘And to be on your toes, you need to change sometimes a little bit. That is what we will do.’’
Takumi Minamino, the Red Bull Salzburg attacking midfielder, will arrive at Anfield in January, after Liverpool triggered his £7.25 million release clause, while there is a commitment to promote from within, with promising youngsters such as Harvey Elliott, 16, Curtis Jones, 18, and Rhian Brewster, 19, making progress. ‘‘This 41⁄2-year contract is very good news for all the young players in the academy,’’ Klopp said.
‘‘I know the boys who are in there now like Curtis, Harvey. We want to use them, we want to involve them in the team and all that stuff. Understanding the culture of the club more and more made my decision really easy . . .’’
Liverpool first mooted a contract extension last season, although at that point Klopp was not ready to commit to it.
However, he said before today’s home game with Watford that he had never contemplated leaving, despite receiving repeated overtures from Bayern Munich to try and take him back to Germany.
Progress on the pitch is being matched by progress off it, with a new £50 million training facility due to open in July and plans to rebuild the Anfield Road stand, pushing the ground’s capacity to 61,000, in the pipeline.
– The Times, London