'We Cannot Behave Like Chelsea,' Klopp Mocks Rivals As He Defends Liverpool’s Transfer Policy

Jurgen Klopp has mocked the likes of Chelsea, saying Liverpool will remain successful despite not making big-money signings during the summer transfer window.

Liverpool have been affected by the financial crisis infused by the coronavirus pandemic and therefore, the board has decided against major signings unless Klopp sells players from his current squad.

So far, the Greek defender Kostas Tsimikas is Liverpool's only signing this summer window and that happened after the sale of Dejan Lovren to Zenit Saint Petersburg for $14 million.

The Reds were heavily linked with RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner, but the club was not ready to pay $61 million for a player, who would not necessarily be a guaranteed starter in their first team. Liverpool backed out of the race in the end and the 24-year-old German forward joined Chelsea instead.

The likes of Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Real Betis' Aissa Mandi were once linked with a move to Anfield as Lovren's replacement. However, it was recently reported that Klopp has decided to not sign a replacement for the Croatian center-back, and instead, he would ask Brazilian defensive midfielder Fabinho to cover in the backline if needed.

Liverpool’s ongoing transfer saga is of Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who has a year left in his current deal but has refused to sign an extension. Bayern Munich have valued him at $35 million, but once again, The Reds are being hesitant in making an official offer. It is understood that Liverpool are not willing to pay $35 million for Alcantara, who is expected to become a free agent in January.

As a result, Liverpool have been on the receiving end of critics about their transfer policies this summer. In a conversation with Radio Five Live, Klopp said that his side will not "behave like Chelsea" and change their transfer policy overnight.

"We live in a world at the moment with a lot of uncertainty. For some clubs, it seems to be less important how uncertain the future is. Owned by countries, owned by oligarchs, that’s the truth. We’re a different kind of club. We got to the Champions League final two years ago, we won it last year and became Premier League champions. We cannot change it overnight and say, ‘so now we want to behave like Chelsea, now we want to behave like them," said Klopp in the same BBC Radio Five interview.

The German boss went on to explain that working together and improving the same players is the key to success.

"It’s about working together on the training ground, that will probably be an advantage for us, we work quite a while with each other. I know people don’t want to hear that but we did it for our own club reasons. We always want to improve the squad but there are different ways," added Klopp.