Jurgen Klopp has admitted Liverpool did not expect to have enough money to pursue Moises Caicedo when they pulled out of the race to sign Jude Bellingham earlier this summer.
Bellingham was Liverpool’s main target ahead of the summer transfer window, but when the true cost of the move was fixed, the Red Devils eventually pulled out and Bellingham eventually joined Real Madrid for an initial fee of 88. 5 million pounds.
Since then, however, Liverpool have unexpectedly accepted the sale of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, who have moved to Saudi Arabia, and Klopp has admitted unforeseen earnings played a part in the move in value. 111 million pounds for Caicedo.
“I can confirm that an agreement with the club has been made,” Klopp said in a press conference when asked about Caicedo’s offer.
“What has changed? We’re a club, we don’t have endless resources, we don’t expect a few things to happen this summer – Hendo, Fab, that sort of thing. Honestly, we didn’t think about it until the summer, and when it happened, we gave it a try. To be honest, obviously the club was really stressed out.”
Klopp went on to insist that he knew nothing else about Liverpool’s move to Caicedo, stressing that he “didn’t know” whether the Ecuador international was due for a medical on Friday.
Caicedo is pursued after Liverpool rejected a third offer for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia. Chelsea then offered £48m for the Belgian just before the Reds took control of Caicedo.
When asked if signing Caicedo would end Liverpool’s pursuit of Lavia, Klopp urged fans to wait and see how things play out.
“Let’s talk about it if it happens,” he said. “I can’t really say anything, it’s true. Let’s take it one step at a time, see what happens in the next few hours or days and start from there.”
