Jurgen Klopp to Liverpool: New manager backs transfer committee but has 'first and last word'
The club's transfer policy has come in for criticism in recent years
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Your support makes all the difference.New Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said he has the 'first and last word' on transfers at the club but still backs its controversial 'transfer committee' policy.
Under owners Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool have employed a 'transfer committee' when scouting and buying players.
This caused confusion among fans as to who signed which players and tensions over the policy are believed to have existed between the board and former manager Brendan Rodgers.
Klopp, however, is prepared to work with the strategy in place.
"It's enough for me to have the first and last word," he said.
"We only want to discuss really good players. I'm not a genius, I don't know more than the rest of the world. I need the other people to get perfect information. It's really easy to handle it."
It had been reported earlier this week that Klopp would demand final say on any potential signings and, given his comments today, it would seem his wish has been granted.
However, he will still have to work closely with shief executive Ian Ayre, head of recruitment Dave Farrows, chief scout Barry Hunter and director of technical performance Michael Edwards, who sit alongside the club's manager on the comittee.
The committee has come in for criticism in recent years following a number of poor yet expensive signings, with a total spend of £291m since its inception in 2012.
A fundamental problem with the policy is that it does not promote accountability, with supporters left dividing the squad up between 'committee signings' and 'manager signings'.
Players like Mamadou Sakho, Alberto Moreno and Lazar Markovic became unofficially associated with the committee by supporters, whereas Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, among others, were believed to be Rodgers' choice.
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