90min

Jurgen Klopp aims dig at Chelsea and Moises Caicedo

  • Klopp has discussed Liverpool's failed attempt to sign Caicedo during the summer
  • The midfielder joined Chelsea for a British record fee instead
  • Klopp was speaking at a test event for the newly-refurbished Anfield Road stand

By Jack Gallagher

Klopp has hit out at Caicedo and Chelsea
Klopp has hit out at Caicedo and Chelsea / Richard Sellers/Allstar/GettyImages
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Jurgen Klopp has hinted that Liverpool were "lucky" to miss out on the signing of the out-of-form Moises Caicedo during the summer and ended up with Wataru Endo instead.

Liverpool had been embroiled in a lengthy transfer tug-of-war with Chelsea over Caicedo during the summer transfer window, with the holding midfielder eventually joining the Blues for a British record £115m fee. The Reds had first agreed a £111m fee before Chelsea upped their offer.

Speaking at a test event for the newly-refurbished Anfield Road stand, manager Klopp discussed the saga and admitted he felt Liverpool were "lucky" to miss out on their top target.

"The summer we had a few strange things happen in the transfer market but here, between us, I can say, 'My god, were we lucky, eh?'" said Klopp.

"We didn't know that in that moment and it didn't feel like it in that moment, but yeah, I'm really happy that it worked out, but you never know before.

"We obviously realised that other central defensive midfielders don't want to join Liverpool, you see what happens, and then we found [Wataru] Endo. He's an exceptional player."

Moises Caicedo
Caicedo has failed to impress at Chelsea / Stu Forster/GettyImages

Although Liverpool missed out on Caicedo, the Reds did manage to sign four central midfielders during the summer transfer window. Klopp's side forked out almost £150m to completely overhaul that area of the pitch by signing Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Endo - the latter of which was recruited immediately after Caicedo went to Chelsea.

While this new-look midfield has helped Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table, Chelsea's midfield led by Caicedo has struggled terribly during the first half of the 2023/24 season.

The former Brighton midfielder has found himself in and out of Mauricio Pochettino's lineup at Stamford Bridge thanks to his inconsistent showings for a woefully-underperforming Chelsea side. The Blues find themselves in 12th place in the table, having lost seven games already this season.

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