Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp refuses to fuel Jadon Sancho transfer speculation

Jürgen Klopp will not be adding traction to transfer talk linking Liverpool with Borussia Dortmund’s teenage superstar Jadon Sancho.

A combination of disciplinary issues and the England international feeling like a scapegoat for the Bundesliga side’s inconsistent form has created a situation where a parting of ways seems the natural conclusion.

Despite the conflict, Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc has dismissed the likelihood of a January exit for Sancho, whom the club were primed to field offers for in the summer.

Anfield has been reported as the 19-year-old’s favoured destination when he leaves Germany, with Klopp a long-time admirer of a player he has described as “one of the biggest talents in world football”.

The European Cup-winning manager, who retains a close relationship with the BVB hierarchy having been at the Westfalenstadion helm for seven years, refused to be drawn on the speculation.

“He’s a very good player,” Klopp said at Melwood ahead of the Merseyside derby, before adding: “I have no clue where these kind of things [the rumours] are coming from, but it cannot come from us because we never speak about it.

“If we would be involved, nobody would know about it apart from a person who wouldn’t speak about it. There’s nothing to say. I know how it sounds, but I cannot change that. There’s nothing to say about it, which can mean there’s absolutely nothing to say about it.”

Klopp admitted in February that Liverpool were keen on recruiting Sancho when he turned down a new contract at Manchester City in 2017 to join Dortmund in a £8m deal.

“We are not blind,” he said at the time. “We saw him, we liked him and then we think, ‘Can we get him?’ No, because English clubs don’t sell to other English clubs.”

Liverpool’s interest in Sancho cannot be denied, but whether it is currently active is another matter altogether.

Manchester United have already been unsuccessful with an enquiry, but retain hopes of landing a player that will prompt bids from Europe’s elite.

Dortmund value the versatile attacker higher than the £97 million sale of Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona in 2017, which could balloon by £38m in potential add-0ns.

To put that in perspective, Sancho would fetch far more than Liverpool shelled out combined for Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

The club’s record outlay is the £75m for Virgil van Dijk and their policy is to only make big plays for “transformers” – a category that goalkeeper Alisson, purchased for £66m, also falls into.

Both those transfers were offset by Philippe Coutinho’s £142m departure to Barcelona.

open image in gallery

Last month, Klopp countered the fantasy of signing Kylian Mbappe with the financial reality of making such a move. “From a sporting point of view, there are not a lot of reasons to not sign him,” the Liverpool boss admitted. “What a player he is. But it is about the money, of course. No chance. Absolutely no chance. Sorry for killing that story!”

When asked if one of the prohibitive factors around Sancho would similarly be his cost, Klopp conceded “that’s one issue, 100 per cent an issue”.

Liverpool, reigning Champions League winners who are also the pacesetters in England, are in a complex situation of having few options – even less at a reasonable price – to make sizeable improvements to their squad.

Klopp did not rule out additions when the window opens next month. “We don’t speak about it, but we are pretty much always ready to do something if it will help us,” he said.

“If not, then not. We will see. I think the summer window is more difficult because of the different moments when it closes in Europe. That makes it really difficult. We will see how that will be in the future. The summer window only hurts the English clubs.”