Liverpool transfer news: Europa League defeat will not stop Jurgen Klopp pursuing Mario Gotze
Gotze has been told he can leave Bayern Munich after falling out-of-favour
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Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool will press on with their attempts to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Götze despite missing out on European football next season after suffering a 3-1 defeat by Sevilla in the Europa League final.
The Reds saw a first-half lead eradicated by three second-half goals, with striker Kevin Gameiro scoring just 17 seconds after the restart before Coke netted twice to complete Sevilla’s third consecutive victory.
A win in Basel would have given Liverpool a direct route into the Champions League group stage despite finishing the Premier League season in eight, but now they face a season without any European football and could subsequently fail to attract the calibre of player that they will have hoped to lure to Anfield this summer.
But Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp stressed that European football next season will not hinder his transfer plans, meaning the club are expected to press on with their interest in Götze after he was informed he is free to leave Bayern providing a club meets their valuation of the German World Cup winner.
“Since I said what I’d do if I player said to me he would only come if we have Champions League (put the phone down), no player had said it to me!” Klopp told the Liverpool Echo before Wednesday night’s final.
“Hopefully we will never talk about the money around signings.
“Not because it’s not a big number or something but because if we take a player it’s because we believe he fits what we need, not because he’s expensive or he’s cheap.
“Our owners are completely behind that and it’s really cool.
If you aren’t in Europe at all then maybe you need less players but that’s not something to think about now
“Nobody has said to me that if we’re not in the Champions League that affects things.
“If you aren’t in Europe at all then maybe you need less players but that’s not something to think about now.”
Champions League semi-finalists Bayern value Gotze at around £20m, and given Klopp’s close ties to the 23-year-old after managing him at Borussia Dortmund, the Liverpool boss would certainly have a greater chance in persuading the Germany international to Merseyside.
Liverpool have already agreed to sign centre-back Joel Matip on a free transfer from Schalke as well as young midfielder Marko Grujic from Red Star Belgrade in a £5.1m agreement, but the club are expected to press on with further signings as Klopp looks to put his personal touch on his side.
Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell remains a transfer target along with Udinese midfielder Piotr Zielinski, while talks are believed to be at an advanced stage with Mainz for goalkeeper Loris Karius.
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