“Would have been nice” – Klopp heaps the praise on the quality of Liverpool’s £50m new facility

Jurgen Klopp highly praised the quality of the newly unveiled AXA Training Centre in Kirkby

Speaking in an interview to Jamie Redknapp of the Daily Mail, Jurgen Klopp spoke in high regard about the newly unveiled £50m AXA Training Centre in Kirkby.

The Reds ended their 100-year stay at Melwood to move into the newly built AXA Training Centre in Kirkby during the most recent international break.

In the interview, Jurgen Klopp mentioned how the extravagant new training centre made him wish that he was a footballer again.

“…it is outstanding. I haven’t thought about being a player since I became a manager, but this is the first time I’ve thought, ‘Oh, that would have been nice, changing in that dressing room, swimming in that pool’. We didn’t have a pool when I was a player — we had a bath which was 50 years old.”

Speaking about the troubles of moving mid-season and the quality of the training ground, Klopp explained that the team just could not wait until the summer.

“There was no chance for it to be finished in the summer, and we didn’t want to wait until next summer. It fits naturally after two days. When you see the pitches for the first time, you go on your knees… Nothing here at Kirkby will be the reason for not being successful in the future.”

Jurgen Klopp also mentioned how the training centre will benefit the youth team and allow the club to get more involved with the progress of the youth teams, while also indicating that Jordan Henderson and James Milner could hold a role more than that of just a player for the club.

“The youth teams can watch our training sessions… Our guys are interested in the whole club, like Milly, like Hendo. They want to stay here forever. Whichever job they have in the future, be it a coach or manager, they are interested. They go over and watch the youth sessions. That gives those kids a massive lift when they see a first-team player next to the pitch. I’m so happy that my team have never forgotten where they came from.”

Since moving into the new AXA Training Centre, the club has played two matches. While the Reds handsomely beat Leicester City last weekend, the team succumbed to an embarrassing home defeat to Atalanta at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League.

Placed 2nd in the table, the Reds’ next assignment is a trip away to Brighton and Hove Albion as we target back-to-back league titles for the first time in the Premier League era.