Jurgen Klopp has stated Mamadou Sakho does not need to gain his trust and insisted the Liverpool defender needs to get back to full fitness if he wants to compete for a first-team place.
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After being officially unveiled on Friday morning, Anfield will play host to Liverpool’s first home game of the season on Saturday evening, when Klopp’s side take on Premier League champions Leicester City.
He told a pre-match news conference: “Yesterday was my first day at Anfield since the Chelsea game [at the end of last season]”.
The 26-year-old failed to impress at Anfield and never really played a role under Klopp after being bought for €20 million (R326 million) by his predecessor Brendan Rodgers in 2014. What they’ve done there is unbelievable. We have to use the quality of the players, the power of the club and the power of our supporters and then it can work.
Meanwhile, Leicester remain on four points as they prepare for their Champions League debut against Club Brugge on Wednesday.
There were concerns the forward could be set for a spell on the sidelines after reports he had picked up an injury on global duty with Senegal.
Despite only playing two games for Liverpool, Sadio Mane is already becoming one of Jurgen Klopp’s most influential players.
“Leicester are aggressive, well organised, very direct”.
“Their one big strength is the counter attack”.
“If he doesn’t want to talk to me then I can say to my player: “he doesn’t want to talk to me, you can choose another agent or go with a lawyer”.
On Liverpool’s performances so far this season, the manager conceded it has been a mixed bag, although he is not overly concerned. He explained: “You have to speak before the window closes”. “It was really good”.
“I will never be standing in the middle of the interest of my player but it doesn’t mean I have to shut up when I see things are not being done in a good way”.
“He couldn’t play football for a long time and that’s how it is”.
“We could have won or lost at Tottenham”.
Grujic was a late second-half substitute against Burnley on August 20 but his short cameo at Turf Moor could not help rescue Jurgen Klopp’s side from a disappointing defeat.
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“The stand is better than before”, Klopp said, “and we have to fill the stadium with life, starting tomorrow”.
