LIVERPOOL, England — Jurgen Klopp has said it is unlikely Liverpool will make any signings in the January transfer window, despite the departures of Nathaniel Clyne and Dominic Solanke.
Striker Solanke joined Bournemouth on a permanent deal on Friday in a transfer which sources told ESPN FC is worth £19 million, plus potential add-ons.
Clyne has joined the Cherries on loan until the end of the season, leaving Klopp with just one recognised right-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold, available for selection.
“Probably not,” Klopp said at a news conference when asked if Liverpool are to recruit this month.
“They are two different cases obviously. Football is a business on one side and on the other side, we have to care about people, we have to care about their situation.
“I think for Dom it was absolutely right to go. It was a bit unlucky for him in the moments when there was space for him and it was easier to come in the team — he had injuries. And in other moments, the squad was full and we had different options. He trained pretty well but you cannot stay confident over that long period, especially not in that age group.
“He didn’t play a lot for Chelsea. So he needed to play football now and Bournemouth made a good offer, to be honest, and for him it’s a really good opportunity.
“You have to think about: ‘Could there be a moment in the next half year where the situation would have changed for him?’ Maybe yes. But in the future we want to sign young players or keep young players, but we don’t want to block them in the moment when we see that maybe something could be better for them. That’s an important thing.
“With Clyne, as a manager having an option like him is good. But he is in an age where he has to play as well. He wants to play. He came and asked if he can go. I thought about it and said: ‘Yes you can.’ We have options, other options, younger boys coming up.
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool are unlikely to sign players in January.
“It’s a similar situation. You can always keep a player. But to keep him in the right shape and with the right amount of confidence, that’s not always easy. They have to play more usually than Clyne did in the last, around about, two years.
“That’s the other decision. Again Bournemouth, that’s more a coincidence than anything else.”
Meanwhile, Joe Gomez remains sidelined with the lower leg fracture he suffered away at Burnley in December.
The defender will be unavailable for Liverpool’s FA Cup third round tie at Wolves, where Klopp is expected rotate heavily, with Simon Mignolet set to start in goal.
“[Gomez is] getting better, but not yet involved,” the Liverpool manager said. “Joel [Matip] maybe is a bit closer — I’m not sure, but hopefully.
“[Mignolet] will play, of course. The goalkeeper position is a different one but Simon, I could write a book about all the good things I could say about him.
“We have to [make changes], that’s clear. We came through the intense period now somehow OK, but of course we have to make changes. How many? I don’t know, but we have to. There’s no chance for anything else.”
Klopp is considering whether to name 16-year-old defender Ki-Jana Hoever in his squad for the trip to Molineux.
Hoever, who can play as a right-back or centre-half, joined from Ajax in the summer, with his impressive performances for the club’s under-18s and U23 sides seeing him drafted up to train with the first team at Melwood.
“He’s one for the future, of course,” Klopp said of the Dutch youth international. “But what we will do with him now for the game, I don’t know.”
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