Klopp hoping to keep Liverpool's title-winning squad intact

February 18, 2020 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp reacts REUTERS

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said on Saturday his main focus is to ensure the squad that delivered the Merseyside club’s first top-flight title in three decades is not broken up in the near future.

Liverpool’s 30-year wait for their 19th English top-flight title ended on Thursday after second-placed Manchester City were beaten by Chelsea, giving Klopp’s side an unassailable 23-point lead with seven games left.

Klopp, who took charge of Liverpool in 2015, has overseen a period of sustained dominance, delivering the Champions League last season and the league title this year.

“I cannot promise we will dominate football now, nor do I know if it is time to talk about major upheavals,” he told German newspaper Bild. “But I know our goal is to keep the team together.”

Klopp, 53, believes Liverpool are not in the same boat as his former club Borussia Dortmund, who lost key players such as Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski in the seasons that followed their back-to-back-title triumphs in 2011 and 2012.

“The problem was that our (Dortmund) team was picked up by other clubs. That hasn’t happened here and now the team has been exceptionally consistent for two and a half years,” the German added.

Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho is a transfer target for Liverpool according to British media reports, but Klopp admitted he does not envisage his side making a move for the English winger.

“The red jersey would look very good for Jadon. But I don’t think such a transfer will take place this summer. If he moved to Liverpool, I would be the most surprised of all,” he said.