Jurgen Klopp thinks the sales of Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith to Bournemouth represented “perfect” deals for Liverpool this summer.
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He told the Daily Echo: “The manager at Liverpool told me Eddie Howe had showed interest and not being in the Europa League and Champions League there would be limited chances for me to play”.
There is good reason to criticise Redknapp’s comments as misguided because Liverpool had the good sense to include a buy back option as part of the deal to sell Ibe.
“Yes, there’s a bit of a risk”. In fact the steps Liverpool has taken will give them certain advantage when they do plan to take back the duo. While Ibe was sold for a £15m fee, Brad Smith followed his teammate to Bournemouth in a transfer worth £6m.
‘It was a kind of surprise, there were mixed emotions, that is life, they had great players and I just felt it was time to leave and crack on.
Ibe and Smith were offloaded as Klopp looks to reshape his Liverpool side ahead of a season in which there will be less opportunities for fringe players due to the absence of European football.
Last season, Bournemouth finished 16th in the Premier League table, five points above relegation, while Liverpool were 18 points above the coastal club in eighth.
“We will watch them, they will have pressure there and we will see them growing up in pressure situations”.
“If a player is on loan it’s different”. You can always go home.
Both struggled for first-team opportunities last term and Klopp chose to let them depart – but only with the guarantee of a buy-back clause. “Hopefully, they will do really well and then in the end we will decide”.
And the German admits it is realistic both could return to Anfield in the future, should they impress on the south coast.
Whether they successfully do so or not remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a smart move for all concerned rather than stunting their progress by leaving them on the Liverpool bench all year.
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Glenn is ESPN FC’s Liverpool correspondent.
