Liverpool’s assistant manager has shed light on club’s January transfer plans

Posted by

Jurgen Klopp may stick with counting on his young players to rise up and make an impact rather than adding more players in January, according to Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders.

Despite losing several important players, like Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, and others due to injury, the Reds lead the Premier League by five points at the moment.

The Merseyside club could end the season with a number of trophies, as it stands. They are top of the league, through to the next round of the Europa League and the FA Cup and in the semifinal of the Carabao Cup.

Liverpool have trusted academy graduate Jarell Quansah with the responsibility of replacing the injured Matip. Other youngsters like Conor Bradley and Bobby Clark both played in Liverpool’s FA Cup win against Arsenal.

Ljinders has claimed that the club is interested in trusting the young players instead of rushing and signing new players in the transfer window.

He said: “We always believe in the academy as well. I think one thing is that you want to produce your own players to be able to fight and compete to win prizes.

“The other reason we have the academy is there are 250 players running and dreaming and hoping that when these moments get harder and a season gets tough in terms of injuries, that they can back you. They so far always did. Look at Conor Bradley.

“[Gabriel] Martinelli is there, fresh and ready to go one-vs-one constantly and Conor maybe the first one not, the big diagonal he couldn’t clear, but after that he reads and he learns and he can clear two or three. One-vs-one against Martinelli, the first one he gets outplayed but the second time he learns and plays the outside better.

“So these boys, they learn and I think Conor and Bobby are not back-up players. They are part of our squad. They are young, hungry and they are made for games like this. Look what happened with Jarell. We put him in at Newcastle with 10 men and after that he feels our trust and knows that we can really rely on him. He makes the steps he makes.”