Jurgen Klopp has admitted that Liverpool may have to “step aside and do different stuff” in the transfer market, following reports that they have given up hope of signing Jude Bellingham.
As he spoke ahead of Monday’s Premier League trip to Leeds United, Klopp only briefly addressed the suggestion that Liverpool are out of the running for Borussia Dortmund and England star Bellingham.
According to reports earlier this week, the club decided that signing the 19-year-old midfielder would consume too much of their budget during a transfer window in which they will need to sign more than one player.
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“It’s nothing to say about, to be honest,” Klopp told a press conference.
“If we don’t speak about players we sign, or not sign, why would we now speak about this kind of speculation and this kind of news? So it’s really nothing to say about.”
He did, however, speak more broadly about the prospect of pursuing top players and how clubs, even those of Liverpool’s stature, cannot always expect to land all of their targets.
After shining for club and country, Bellingham has been a target for Europe’s elite clubs, with Liverpool seen as front-runners for his signature for what would almost certainly be a nine-figure fee.
However, after a disappointing 2022-23 season, the Reds appear set to miss out on next season’s Champions League, and they may be readjusting their goals.
“It’s not about Jude Bellingham, my answer now, definitely not,” Klopp said.
“I never understood why we constantly talk about things we theoretically cannot have.
“We cannot have six players in the summer where everyone’s £100million, for example. Everybody would say that’s kind of clear.
“You have to realise what you can do, and then you have to work with that. So how much money do we have available? And then you have to work with that.
“We are not children. If you ask a five-year-old what they want for Christmas and they tell you, ‘I want to have a Ferrari’, you wouldn’t say ‘that’s a good idea’, you would say ‘that’s too expensive and anyway, you cannot drive it.’
“That’s how it is. If this kid is then his whole life unhappy because he cannot get a Ferrari that would be a sad life, but it’s just what can you do, and then you do it and you work with that.
“Whatever I want, what we need and what we want, we try absolutely everything to get it.
“But there are moments where you have to accept this or that is not possible for us and just step aside and do different stuff.”
Klopp also addressed the half-time incident in Liverpool’s game against Arsenal on Sunday, in which assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis appeared to aim an elbow at Liverpool defender Andy Robertson.
The Football Association announced on Thursday that Hatzidakis will face no punishment for the unusual incident.
Klopp said: “I think it’s been dealt with really well.
“I wasn’t aware of it during the game. I spoke to Robbo and all the other guys, not to the assistant, but I think it’s now been dealt with really well, and now we can carry on.”